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SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH 
CENTURY 



WORKS BY 
PERCY F. MARTIN, F.R.G.S. 



MEXICO OF 
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

With Map, and more than loo Illustrations. 2 Vols. 
Demy 8vo. 30s. net. 

"Will take its place as a standard work of reference on the country." 
—Truth. 

PERU OF 
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

With Map, and 43 Illustrations, i Vol. 15s. net. 

SALVADOR OF 
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

With Map, and 48 Illustrations, i Vol. 15s. net. 



LONDON : EDWARD ARNOLD 




"The Colours." 

The Salvadorean Flag, supported by Cadets of the School for Corporals and 

Sergeants. 



SALVADOR 



OF THE 



TWENTIETH CENTURY 



BY 

PERCY F. MARTIN, F.R.G.S. 

* f 

AUTHOR OF 

"through five republics of south AMERICA," "MEXICO OF THE TWENTIETH 

CENTURY," "PERU OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY," ETC. 



NEW YORK 
LONGMANS, GREEN & CO, 

LONDON : EDWARD ARNOLD 

1911 

[All rights reserved^"- 










A^^ 



PREFACE 

" And so I penned 

It down, until at last it came to be, 

For length and breadth, the bigness which you see." 

BuNYAN : Apology for his Booh. 

While it is quite reasonable to hope for a consistent 
improvement among the Central American nations, and 
as easy to discern the extent of amelioration which has 
already occurred, it is necessary to bear in mind some 
of the causes which have hitherto conduced to the 
turbulence and the tragedies which have characterized 
government by some of these smaller Latin Eepublics. 
Many writers, who can know but little of the 
Spanish race, have attributed the early failures of the 
States which broke away from the Motherland, not 
only to lack of stability, but to a radical psychological 
defect in the national character. This is a decided 
mistake, for the Spanish people, both in their indi- 
vidual and in their collective character, are fully as 
capable of exercising the rights, and of enjoying 
rationally the benefits, of self-government as any 
other nation of the world. The patriots and heroes 
who distinguished themselves in the early days of 
these young Repubhcs, while themselves descendants 
of the Spaniards, generally speaking, and having only 
in a few cases Indian blood in their veins, had to com- 
bat against all the ambition and avarice, all the pride 



vi PREFACE 

and prejudices, of the Church-ridden land which had 
set its grip upon New Spain, and meant, if possible, to 
keep it there. But it was not possible, and in a few 
decades was witnessed their complete expulsion as 
rulers from the countries which had been won by the 
flower of Spain's soldiery, and lost by the exercise of 
Spain's oppression and greed. 

While the early history of the Latin - American 
E-epublics contains much to distress, and even to 
depress, the reader, it is impossible to avoid paying 
a tribute to the band of gallant men who fought so 
desperately in the cause of freedom, and eventually 
won it. It is not just to say, as so many historians 
have said, that the highest incentives of these men to 
action were the favours of artificial and hereditary 
greatness, with the accumulation, by whatsoever means, 
of that wealth by which such favours might be pur- 
chased. Undoubtedly some mercenary motives were 
at work, as they usually are in political upheavals of 
this nature. Does anyone imagine, for instance, during 
the disturbances which occurred in Mexico early in the 
present year, and which were personally assisted by 
United States citizens, that low mercenary motives 
were lacking ? Does anyone imagine that the numerous 
North American filibusters who took part in the 
fighting, first on the Texas borders, and then in 
Mexico itself, had any idea of assisting a persecuted 
people to free themselves from the yoke of a tyrant ? 
Or was it not the glamour of golden lucre to be paid 
to them, and the promise of the much-coveted land 
across the Rio Grande del Norte, that impelled these 
young Yankees to throw in their lot with the rebels, 
trusting to their own complacent Government at 
Washington to see them through — as it actually did 



PREFACE vii 

— any trouble which might happen to them if they 
proved to be upon the losing side ? 

It would perhaps be equally correct to describe the 
early Spanish conquerors as greedy adventurers, since 
they never had any ideas of benefiting the countries 
or the people whom, they afflicted so sorely. It is 
true that they encountered fearful dangers, displayed 
unheard-of bravery, overturned empires, and traversed 
with bloody steps an entire continent ; but it was to 
aggrandize the Crown of Spain and to fill their own 
empty pockets with golden spoil, which, once secured, 
witnessed the fulfilment of their ambitions. 

It was, moreover, from this veritable horde of greedy 
tyrants that in later days the peoples of these nations 
sought to obtain, and finally did obtain, their freedom ; 
their experiences of the Spanish Viceroys, with their 
courts more brilliant and more corrupt than that at 
Madrid itself; the persecutions of the Church, which 
has left a record in Latin- America more bloody and 
more barbarous than even in Europe; the deafness 
shown by the Spanish Crown whenever an appeal for 
consideration or clemency was addressed to it — all 
these things conduced to that upheaval which has 
taken over one hundred years to consummate and 
fructify. 

It was, then, against all this that the people of 
Central America were called upon to fight. Can 
anyone be surprised at the demoralization which 
occurred in their own ranks when their efforts to 
secure their freedom from Spain were once crowned 
with success ? History shows many other such 
instances ; indeed, bad as is the record of the earliest 
days of Latin- American self-government, it by no 
means stands without parallel. The objects — beyond 



viii PREFACE 

a desire to be free from the brutal tyranny of the 
Spanish Viceroys — of the Latin - American revolu- 
tionists were never very clearly defined or well under- 
stood. Neither was any preconceived or organized 
plan ever made or carried out in connection with the 
French Bevolution. 

Some historians are of opinion that the revolutionists 
of Central America originally contemplated the estab- 
lishment of an independent Kingdom or Monarchy 
which should comprise the ancient Vice-Eoyalty, or, 
as it was called, the " Kingdom of Guatemala." But 
there is little evidence that any such notion was 
generally popular. Among the body of office-seekers 
and hangers-on of royal Courts it may, of course, have 
been regarded with favour. But the Provisional Junta, 
which was convoked immediately after the separation 
from Spain, showed a great majority of Liberals, who, 
in spite of the pressure brought to bear upon them, 
and the personal danger in which they stood, pro- 
ceeded boldly to administer the oath of absolute 
independence, and to convoke an assembly of patriots 
which should organize the country on the basis of 
Bepublican institutions. The eifort which was made 
later on through French machinations to establish a 
monarchy in Mexico failed dismally, as had the previous 
efforts put forward by the Mexicans themselves, when 
Iturbide was made— or, to be more correct, made him- 
self — Emperor for a very brief period. 

The people of Central America were but few in 
number, and were widely distributed over the face of 
the country. It took several weeks to get into com- 
munication with some of the outlying districts, and 
the diffusion of the newly-created voters prevented 
them from becoming in any way a united people, or 



PREFACE ix 

even cognizant of what was being done in their name. 
In fact, while anxiously awaiting the intelligence that 
their Junta was about to issue the long-looked-for 
Republican Charter, the people of Salvador received 
the startling and disastrous news that their country- 
was to be incorporated into the Mexican Empire. 
They had been basely betrayed, and it is small wonder 
that they stood aghast at the colossal nature of that 
betrayal. 

Terrible indeed was the position for the newly- 
arisen Republic of Salvador. The men whom they 
had sent to attend the Junta at Guatemala City were 
met and overawed by armed bands ; their deliberations 
were forcibly interrupted and suspended ; some of them, 
such as Bedoya, Maida, and others, were ruthlessly 
assassinated, while their own leader and President of 
the Provisional Junta, one Gainza, turned traitor and 
went over to the enemy under promise of a high post 
in the new royal Government. 

Salvador was the nearest province to Guatemala, 
and the centre of Liberalism. It was not long before 
the patriots of this country took up arms in the defence 
of their newly-acquired freedom, and when they did 
theirs was practically the first battle which was fought 
upon Central American territory by Central Americans 
among themselves. Unfortunately, it was by no means 
the last ; and history bristles with instances of terrible 
internecine warfare — of father arrayed against son, 
brother against brother, and of whole families, once 
united in bonds of love, wrenched asunder, never again 
to be reconciled this side of the grave. For years 
following, the soil of this beautiful land was drenched 
with human blood, its energies crippled, its resources 
abandoned. Are we justified in supposing that the 



X PREFACE 

end has come ? I verily believe that, if it has not 
actually arrived, it is at least in sight. 

It must be remembered that the people of Central 
America are no longer an uneducated and unduly 
excitable race, except, perhaps, where their personal 
honour and independence are concerned ; they possess 
an exceedingly clear and precise knowledge of their 
prospective or immediate requirements ; they have as 
enlightened leaders among them as ever their powerful 
Northern neighbour possessed or possesses : all that 
they ask, and all that they should be granted, is the 
freedom to manage their own affairs in their own way 
and in their own time/ A well-known writer upon 
Central America, who visited these countries some 
five-and-fifty years ago, declared : " Even as it was no 
one, whatever his prejudices, could fail to perceive the 
advance in the manners and customs, and the change 
in the spirit, of the people of Central America during 
the ten years of freedom which the Constitution 
secured." If that was true then, it is doubly, trebly 
true to-day, when education and foreign travel have 
served to open the minds and broaden the tolerance of 
these people, who may reasonably be permitted, and 
even earnestly encouraged, to work out their own 
salvation. By free and unrestricted intercourse with 
the nations of the world this can best be effected, and 
day by day is proving the truth of the saying of 
Dr. Johnson: "The use of travelling is to regulate 
imagination by reality, and, instead of thinking how 
things may be, see them as they are." 

October, 1911. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTEE I 

PAGES 

Discovery of Salvador — Scenery — Volcanoes — Separation of Salvador 
from Spanish dominion — Central American Confederation — 
Attempts to reconstruct it — General Barrios — Lake Ilopango — 
Earthquake restdts — Eemarkable phenomena — Public roads 
— Improvement under Figueroan Government - - 1 — 12 

CHAPTEE II 

Government — Executive power — Chamber of Congress — The Cabinet 
— Justice — The courts — Prisons and prisoners — Employment 
and treatment — Police force — How distributed — Education — 
Colleges and schools — State-aided education — Teaching staffs — 
Primary education — Posts and telegraphs — Improved interstate 
parcels post ._..._ 13 — 35 

CHAPTEE III 

Biographical — The President, Dr. Manuel E. Araujo — The ex-Presi- 
dent, General Figueroa — The Cabinet — Dr. don Francesco 
Dueiias, Minister for Foreign Affairs — Dr. don Teodosio Cor- 
ranza, Home Affairs — Dr. Gustavo Baron, Public Instruction — 
Ingeniero Peralta Lagos — Dr. Castro V. — Don Eusebio Braca- 
monte — Don Miguel Duenas — Department of Agriculture — 
Senor Carlos Garcia Prieto, Finance and Public Credit - 36 — 48 

CHAPTEE IV 

Government finances — London Market appreciation of Salvador 
bonds — History of foreign debt — Salvador Eailway security — 
Central American Public Works Company — Changing the 
guarantee — Financial conditions to-day — Public debt at end of 
1909 — Budget for 1910-11 — Small deficit may be converted into 
surplus — Summary ----- 49 — 60 

CHAPTEE V 

Salv ador versus Honduras and Nicaragua — Attitude of the President 
— Proclamation to the people — Generals Eivas and AUaro — 
Invasion of Salvador — Ignominious retreat of enemy — Concilia- 
tory conduct of General Figueroa — Character of Salvadorean 
people — Treachery of Zelaya . - . - 61 — 73 

xi 



xii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VI 

PAGES 

Outbreak of hostilities between Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and 
Guatemala — Discreditable conduct of Nicaragua proved — 
Failure of United States and Mexican intervention — Dignified 
and loyal attitude of General Figueroa — "Warning to Honduras 
— President Da^-ila used as Zelaya's cat's-paw — The former's sub- 
sequent regret — Central American Court of Justice trial of claim 
for damages and result of judgment . - . 74 — 85 

CHAPTEE Vn 

The Army — Division of forces — Active reserve — Auxiliary — Republic's 
fighting strength — Mihtary education — Strict training — Excel- 
lent discipline — Schools and polytechnics — Manual exercise — 
Workshops and output — Economies in equipments — Garrison 
services — Barracks — Destruction of Zapote Barracks — New 
constructions at Capital, Santa Ana, Santa Tecla, Sitio-del-Nino, 
Ahuachapan, Cojutepeque, San Miguel — Annual expenditure 86 — 95 

CHAPTEE YIII 

British Minister to Salvador — Lionel Edward Gresley Garden — 
British Legation hospitality — Mrs. Carden — Government indiffer- 
ence to valuable services — British Vice- Consul — No report for 
twenty years — Foreign Office neglect — L'nited States Minister 
— Valuable trade information from American Legation — Salva- 
dorean relations with Washington _ _ _ gg — 109 

CHAPTEE IX 

United States information for traders — Improved Consular services — 
United States and Salvador Government — Bureau of Pan- 
American EepubHcs — Mr. Mark J. Kelly — Exceptional services 
— The American Minister, Major W. and Mrs. Heimke — Salva- 
dorean Minister to U.S.A., Senor Federico Mejia — Central 
American Peace Conference and the United States - 110 — 119 

CHAPTEE X 

Latin- American trade and British diplomacy — Serious handicap 
inflicted by the British Government — Sacrificing British interests 
— Why British trade has been lost to Salvador — United States 
trade with Salvador — German competition — Teutonic character- 
istics — Britain's free trade principles — Severe American rivalry 
— United States Steel Company's methods - - 120 — 136 

CHAPTEE XI 

British trade declines — Suggested remedy — Distributing centres — 
Trading companies and branches — Unattractive cheap goods — 
Former hold on Salvadorean markets — Comparative statistics 
between Great Britain, Germany, and the United States — 
WooUen and cotton goods — Absence of British bottoms from 
Salvadorean ports — Markets open to British manufacturers — 
Agricultural implements ----- 137 — 149 



CONTENTS xiu 

CHAPTER XII 

PAGES 

British fire apparatus-Story of a British installation-Coffee and 
sugar machinery-Cane-miUs-Fawcett, Preston and Co s in- 
taUati^ns-High reputation enjoyed by British firms-Umt«f 
States coffee equipment - German competition -Methods of 
German commercial travellers- Openmgs for British trade- 
Effect of Panama Canal-Libel upon Salvador manufacturers- 
Salvador Chamber of Commerce - - - - lou 

CHAPTER XIII 

Svstems of business-Long credits-British and United States 

^^^thods versus German-Making " good '^ stock losses-Ques- 

tion of exchange-Effect upon business-Drafts and speculators 

rn^tomarv tirms of payment— Central American banks as 

;;Ss-ToLSsaN 

!?Prominent newspapers -Some of their contnbutors-CentraJ_ 
American Press Conference - - - - ±dd 

CHAPTER XIV 

Mining— Ancient workings— Precious metals found— Copper deposits 
^^^Iron oref-Treatment of ores in England-Difficulties of trans- 
port-Some deceased authorities-Mines in operation-Butters 
Svador mines-History of undertaking-Large Profits earned 
-Directorial poUcy - Machinery and equipment - Butters 
Divisadero Mines— Butters' cyamdmg plant - - lei— -lao 

CHAPTER XV 

Transportation-Salvador Railway Company-Early construction- 
Gauge-Bridges - Locomotives — Rolhng-stock - PersonneZ of 
railway-Steamship service-Extensions-Increasmg popularity 
-Exchange andmfluence on railway success-Importers versus 
planters -Fmancial conditions - Projected extensions - Geo- 
fogical survey-Mr. Minor C. Keith's Salvador concession _ 196-215 

CHAPTER XVI 

Ports and harbours-La Uni6n-Population-Railway extensta 
Lack of British bottoms-Carrymg trade-H.B.M. Vice-Consui 
-Port of Triunfo-Improvmg the entrance-Proposed railway 
-icajutla-Loading and unloading cargoes-Proposed improve- 
ments — Salvador Railway connections — La Libertad - Com- 
Sandante and garrison-Loading ^nd unloading cargoes-Cable 
station and the service provided by Government-The^ staff of_^^^ 
operators - - " " " 

CHAPTER XVII 

Agriculture-Government support and supervision-Annual pro- 
^ dSons-Agricultural sch^ools-Cattle-breedmg-^ 

_Scco-Forestry-Rice-Beans-Cacao-Ealsam-Tre^a^_^^^ 

ment by natives - - ' " ' 



xiv CONTENTS 

CHAPTEE XVIII 

PACES 

Departments : Capital cities — Population — Districts — Salvador 
Department — City of San Salvador — Situation — Surroundings — 
Destruction in 1854 by earthquake — Description of catastrophe 
— Loss of life actually small — Evacuation of city — Recuperative 
faculty of the people ... - - 247—255 

CHAPTER XIX 

City of San Salvador — San Salvador as place of residence — Theatres 
— Parks — Streets — Hotels — Domestic servants — Hospitahty of 
residents — Societies and associations — Educational establish- 
ments — Government buildings — Religion and churches — Casiao 
— Hospitals and institutions — Disastrous conflagrations — Pubhc 
monuments .-_.-- 256 — 275 

CHAPTER XX 

Department of Chalatenango — Rich agricultural territories — Annual 
fair — Generally prosperous conditions — Department of Cuscutlan 
— City of Cojutepeque — Industries— Cigar factories — Volcanoes 
— Lake of Cojutepeque — Department of Cabanas — Scenic features 
— Feast of Santa Barbara — Department of San Vicente — Public 
buildings and roads . . - - . 276 — 286 

CHAPTER XXI 

Department of La Libertad — Physical characteristics — Balsam Coast 
— Santa Tecla — Department of Sonsonate — Life and hotels — 
Department of Ahuachapan — City of Ahuachapan — Public build- 
ings and baths — Projected railway extension — Department of 
Santa Ana — Chief city — Generally prosperous conditions 287 — 299 

CHAPTER XXII 

Department of La Paz — Characteristics — Zacatecoluca — Population 
— Former proportions — Districts — Towns — Principal estates — 
Santiago — Nonualco — San Juan Nonualco — Climate — Water- 
supply — Santa Maria Ostuma — Mercedes la Ceiba — San Pedro 
Mashuat — Some minor estates — Small property holdings 300 — 305 

CHAPTER XXIII 

Department of San Miguel — Postless coast — Indigo plantations — 
City of San Miguel — Cathedral — "Water-supply — Archaeological 
interests— Projected railway connections - - 306 — 310 

Department of Morazan — City of Gotera — Mountains and fertile 

plains — Agricultural produce - - - . 310 — 311 

Department of La Union — Boundaries — Scenery — Guaseoran River 

— Industries — Commerce ----- 311 — 313 

Department of Usulutan— Physical characteristics — Volcanic curi- 
osities — Surrounding villages — Populations — El Triunfo — 
Santiago de Maria . . - . . 313—316 

Conclusion ..---.- 317—320 

Index - - - - - - . - 321—328 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 

" The Colours "-.--- Frontispiece 

Views on New National Eoad, between San Vicente and Ilopango - 8 
H. E. Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, President of the Eepublic of 

Salvador 1911-1915 .-.--- 18 

The 3rd Company, Sergeants' School, in Review Order - - 28 

Company in Line, Sergeants' School - - - - - 28 

Section of Eiflemen kneeling, Sergeants' School - - - 28 
General Fernando Figueroa, President of the Eepublic of Salva- 
dor 1907-1911 - - - - - - 38 

Dr. Artiiro Eamon Avila, Consul-General for the Eepublic of 

Salvador to Great Britain, appointed May, 1911 . - - 46 

ArtUlery on Parade-Ground, San Salvador Barracks - - 60 

Colonel's Quarters, School of Sergeants - - - - 70 

Officers' Club-Eoom, School of Sergeants - - - - 70 

Penitentiary at San Salvador - - - - - - 78 

Officers' Club-Eoom, Military Polytechnic School - - - 78 

Colonel, Adjutant, and Captains of Company - - - 86 

Cadet Corps, School of Sergeants - - - - - 86 

Mr. Lionel Edward Gresley Garden, C.M.G., H.B.M. Minister- 
Eesident at Salvador (as well as at Guatemala, Nicaragua, and 

Honduras) ------- 98 

Front of Sergeants' School, San Salvador - - - . 108 

Typical Street in San Salvador, showing Style of One-Storey Houses 108 
Mr. Mark Jamestown KeEy, F.E.G.S., for Fifteen Years Consul- 
General in Great Britain for Salvador (retired June, 1911), and 

Chau'man of the Salvador Eailway Company, Limited - 114 

Side-view of " El Eotulo " Bridge - - - - - 118 

The National Eoad leading to La Libertad, showing "El Eotulo" 

Bridge .-..-... ng 

Entrance to Avenida La Ceiba at San Salvador ... 130 

The Famous Avenida imder Construction - - . . 130 

XV 



xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PACK 

View of the New Avenida leading to San Salvador, taken from the 

North 140 

View of the Picturesque Town of Marcala . - . - 150 
El Parque Barrios, one of the most Beautiful Pubhc Eesorts in 

Central America ------- 162 

Government Building (" Casa Blanca "), San Salvador - - 178 

Campo de Marte (Eacecourse), San Salvador ... 178 

1. View of Butters' Divisadero Mines, Department of Morazan, 

Salvador 188 

2. Butters' Salvador Mines, Santa Eosa, Department of La Union, 

. Salvador ..-.--.- 188 

Map of the Salvador EaUway ..... 198 

Deck Bridge on Salvador Eailway ----- 206 

Station BuUding at Santa Ana on the Salvador Railway - - 206 
Mr. Charles T. Spencer, General Manager of the Salvador Eailway, 

appointed May, 1911 - - - - - - 222 

Don Juan Amaya, Governor of the Department of Cuscutlan - 222 

Native Habitation in the Hot Country - - _ . 232 

Native making Sugar from a Primitive Wooden MUl ■ - 232 

A Street in Sonsonate (Calle de Mercado) - - - - 242 

Type of " Quinta " or Country -House in Santa Tecla (New San 

Salvador)- - - - - - - - 242 

Pubhc Park in San Salvador, where Throngs of Well-dressed People 

assemble in the Evening to listen to an Excellent MUitary Band 258 

New National Palace at San Salvador . . - . 268 

Theatre at Santa Ana, Department of Santa Ana - - - 268 

Cathedral of Sonsonate, Department of Sonsonate - - - 274 

Public Park at Cojutepeque, Department of Cuscutlan - - 284 

Barracks at Cojutepeque, Department of Cuscutlan - - - 284 

Municipal Palace at Sonsonate, Department of Sonsonate - - 294 

Group of Salvadoreans of the Superior Working-Class - - 314 
The " Stately " Offices of His Britannic Majesty's Vice-Consul at La 

Union, one of the Principal Ports in Salvador - - - 306 

Barracks at Santa Tecla (New San Salvador) - - - 306 

Map of the Eepublic of Salvador - - At eiid 



SALVADOE OF THE TWENTIETH 
CENTURY 

CHAPTER I 

Discovery of Salvador — Scenery — Volcanoes — Topographical features — 
Mountain ranges — Natural fertility — Lake Ilopango — Earthquake 
results — Eemarkable phenomena — Disappearance of islands — Pubhc 
roads improvement and construction under Figueroa government. 

It was in the year 1502 that Christopher Columbus, 
that remarkable and noble-minded Genoese, un- 
deterred by the shameful treatment meted out to 
him by his adopted countrymen in Spain, sailed 
away to the East Indies in search of a new passage ; 
and it was in consequence of the mutiny among his 
ruffianly followers that, putting into Hispaniola, Sal- 
vador was discovered. For something over 300 years 
Spain ruled, and ruled brutally ; the history of her 
government here — as elsewhere through Latin 
America — being one long series of oppressions, 
cruelties and injustices practised upon the unfortunate 
natives and the Spanish residents alike. The ill- 
treatment extended to Columbus is but a case in point. 
Lying on the Pacific Ocean, between the parallels 
of 13° and 14° 10' N. latitude, and the meridians of 
87° and 90° W. longitude, Salvador has a coast-line of 
about 160 miles, extending from the Bay of Fonseca to 
the River Paz, which is one of the boundaries between 

1 



2 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

this Bepublic and the neighbouring State of Guate- 
mala. While Salvador is the smallest of the five 
different countries forming the Central American 
group, boasting of but 9,600 square miles, it not alone 
possesses some of the richest and most beautiful 
territory, but has the densest population as well as the 
most considerable industry and the most important 
commerce. 

Very remarkable are the topographical features of 
Salvador, and very profound is the impression created 
upon the traveller's mind as he approaches it for the 
first time through the beautiful Bay of Fonseca, with 
its wealth of tropical scenery, the romantic islands and 
the background of noble mountains, afforested to the 
tops of their numerous peaks, and filling the mind with 
awe at the memory of their numerous destructive 
eruptions through the centuries. 

The coast here presents, for the greater part, a belt 
of low-lying, richly wooded alluvial land, varying in 
width from ten to twenty miles. Behind this, and 
displaying an abrupt face seawards, rises a noble 
range of coast mountains — or rather a broad plateau 
— having an average elevation of 2,000 feet, and 
relieved by numerous volcanic peaks. It is not the 
height of these mountains that lends so much dignity 
and beauty, for, as mountains go, they would be con- 
sidered as anything but remarkable. It is their 
extraordinary formation, their almost terrible prox- 
imity, and their long and terrifying history, which 
challenge the attention of the individual who gazes 
upon them for the first time. 

Between the range and the great primitive chain of 
the Cordilleras beyond, lies a broad valley varying in 
width from twenty to thirty miles, and being over 100 






PHYSICAL FEATURES 8 

miles in length. Very gently the coastal plateau sub- 
sides towards this magnificent valley, which is drained 
and abundantly watered by the River Lempa, and is 
unsurpassed for natural beauty and fertility by any 
equal extent of country in the tropics. 

The northern border of this terrestrial paradise — so 
far as the eye can judge it — rests upon the flank of 
the mountains of Honduras, which tower skywards 
about it to the height of 6,000 to 8,000 feet, broken 
and rugged to the very summits. To the south of the 
Lempa, however, the country rises from the immediate 
and proper valley of the river, first in the form of a 
terrace with a very abrupt face, and afterward by a 
gradual slope to the summit of the plateau. 

Then comes another curious physical feature — a 
deep, green, and wooded basin of altogether unique 
scenic beauty and fertility, formed by the system of 
numerous small rivers which rise in the western part 
of the country around the feet of the volcano Santa 
Ana, falling finally into the sea near Sonsonate. This 
formation is in the shape of a triangle, the base resting 
on the sea, and the apex defined by the volcano. A 
second and even a larger basin is that of the River 
San Miguel, lying transversely to the valley of the 
River Lempa, in the eastern division of the State, and 
separated only by a number of smaller detached moun- 
tains from the Bay of Fonseca. 

Approaching the Salvadorean coast upon any of the 
steamers which run there, one is confronted with no 
fewer than eleven great volcanoes, which literally 
bristle along the east of the plateau which has been 
mentioned as intervening between the valley of the 
Lempa and the sea. As a boy and a keen philatelist, 
I always wondered why Salvador postage-stamps had 



4 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

a group of three active and terrible-looking volcanoes 
upon their faces. When I visited that country for the 
first time I understood. The long row of sentinels, 
grim, yet extraordinarily beautiful, form a right line 
from north-west to south-east, accurately coinciding 
with the great line of volcanic action which is clearly 
defined from Mexico to Peru. Commencing on the 
side of Guatemala their order is as follows : Apaneca, 
Santa Ana, Izalco, San Salvador, San Vicente, Usulu- 
t^n, Tecapa, Zacatecoluca, Chinameca, San Miguel, and 
Conchagua. There are others of lesser note, besides a 
family of extinct volcanoes, whose craters are some- 
times filled with water, as well as numerous volcanic 
vents or " blow-holes," which the natives not inaptly 
call infiernillos, i.e., "little hells!" Even the appar- 
ently harmless and beautiful island of Tigre, which 
occupies the centre of the Bay of Fonseca, and a 
veritable picture of scenic grandeur, is a slumbering 
volcano, and has a history at once interesting and 
terrifying. The memorable Cosieguina, El Yiejo, 
Felica, and Momotombo, in Nicaragua, face El Tigre 
on the other side. 

The most beautiful of the Kepublic's many volcanic 
lakes is that of Ilopango, on the borders of which is 
situated the village of the same name, with a scattered 
population of between 1,400 and 1,500 people. The lake 
is some 6*85 miles long from west to east, about 5*11 
miles wide, with an area of 25*1 square miles and a 
developed shore-line of 28 '8 miles. The late President 
of the Republic, General Fernando Figueroa, was kind 
enough to place a steam-launch at my disposal, which 
enabled me to see the lake under the most favourable 
auspices, and in company with his nephew, Senor 
Angulo, I spent several interesting hours upon its 



SEISMIC DISTURBANCES 5 

calm, deep green surface. This lake has been the 
scene of numerous remarkable, volcanic phenomena, 
the most recent of which took place a few weeks 
after my visit, and resulted in the centre islands, 
which were one of its most charming features, com- 
pletely disappearing beneath the surface of its waters. 

In January, 1880, the lake had also been the scene 
of a severe earthquake, which shook the entire sur- 
rounding country. Upon this occasion the waters 
suddenly rose about 4 feet above their usual level, 
and, flowing into the bed of the Jiboa — a stream which 
forms the usual outlet from the lake — increased it to 
the proportions of a broad and raging river, which 
soon made for itself a channel from 30 to 35 feet 
in depth. A rapid subsidence in the level of the 
lake was thus produced, and by March 6 in the 
same year the surface was 34 feet below its maxi- 
mum. It was then that the rugged and stony 
island, about 500 feet in diameter, and which I have 
mentioned above, suddenly rose over the waters, 
reaching to a height of 150 feet above the level of 
the lake and being surrounded by several smaller 
islands, the waters all around becoming intensely hot. 
Previous to this extraordinary phenomenon, the bottom 
of the lake, so I was informed, had been gradually 
rising, and so violent was the flood when it occurred, 
that the small village of Atuscatla, near the outlet, was 
entirely destroyed. 

Some years afterwards — namely, in February, 1892 
— while some severe earthquakes were taking place 
in Guatemala, their reflex was felt in the same spot — 
Atuscatla, on Lake Ilopango — Lieutenant Hill, who 
was then making investigations in Salvador on behalf 
of the United States Government, declaring that a 



r 



6 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

shock was felt lasting fifteen seconds, and then con- 
tinued with gradually decreasing force for a further 
one minute and five seconds. 

When I was a visitor to Ilopango, there were two 
extremely comfortable hotels to be found on the banks, 
both having some very convenient bathing facilities to 
ofier, and each having a beautiful garden attached. 
During the hot season, and upon Sundays and all 
holidays, these hotels are crowded with visitors from 
San Salvador, who ride out in parties, there being no 
other mode of reaching the lake. The road is a truly 
beautiful one, travellers crossing numerous streams and 
passing through shady, blossom-covered woods, con- 
taining many magnificent trees. By moonlight this 
oute appears remarkably picturesque, and many people 
prefer to make the journey thus. Ilopango is some 
four hours' ride from the capital, and the journey 
across the lake usually occupies another two or three 
hours in an electric or naphtha launch. The hotels and 
bathing establishments, however, are located upon the 
side of the lake nearest to San Salvador. 

The outline of the beautiful Ilopango Lake, when 
last surveyed, was quite accurately determined by 
means of intersections from the various topographical 
stations. Its surface in January, 1893, was found 
to be 1,370 feet (417-6 metres) above the sea. Its 
actual depth the surveyors had no means of ascer- 
taining ; its basin, however, is far below the general 
level of the surrounding ridges, which are all volcanic. 
Those to the north and east are formed of layers of 
sand and ashes partially compacted, yellowish in colour, 
and throwing out spurs towards the lake, terminating 
in steep bluffs. West of the lake the ground rises to 
the San Jacinto Hills ; but the soft material composing 



LAKE ILOPANGO 7 

it has been eroded into a maze of sharp ridges and 
deep gulches. The eastern hills are also broken into 
a succession of knife-like ridges. 

Professor Goodyear, a famous American geologist, 
has said that the southern hills consist entirely of 
volcanic materials, but are of a much harder and 
firmer structure than those of the north and east, 
being composed largely of conglomerates contammg 
boulders well cemented together. The lake is situated 
upon the volcanic axis of the country, and has long 
been the seat of numerous earthquakes and active 
volcanic phenomena, the most violent of recent times 
being those of 1879 and 1880. According to the same 
Professor Goodyear, there was a series of earthquake 
shocks, some of great violence, extending from Decem- 
ber 22 to January 12, 1880, followed by a period of 
quiet until the night of January 20, when, after a 
series of loud reports and explosions, followed by 
violent hissings and dense clouds of steam, a mass of 
volcanic rock rose from the centre of the lake to a 
height of 58 feet (17'7 metres). Previous to this 
the bottom of the lake had been gradually rising 
until January 11, and the waters had been lifted to 
maximum height of 5*2 feet above their usual level. 
This sudden rise converted the outlet from a small 
stream— not over 20 feet wide and a foot deep, and 
with a current of two or three miles per hour— 
into a raging torrent discharging as much water as 
a great river. So violent was the flood that the small 
village of Atuscatla, situated near the outlet, was 
as stated, destroyed, and the channel was so widened 
and deepened that the waters of the lake fell 38-6 feet 
(11-75 metres) from the highest point reached, or 
33-4 feet (10*17 metres) below their original level. 



8 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

During the time of this flood the Eio Jiboa, which ^ 
carries off the waters of the lake, was enormously 
swollen and became very muddy, and in the lower 
portion overflowed its banks, flooding broad tracts of 
the plain. By the middle of February, 1880, the lake ■ 
adjusted itself to the new conditions, and since that 
time, until the visitation of last year (1910), there had 
been no great change in its level; the variations at 
present going on are due to the excess of precipitation 
during the ramy months over that which is prevalent 
in the dry season. 

Anyone who had seen Salvador, say, ten years ago 

and who revisited it to-day, would assuredly be 

impressed by the great improvement which has taken 

place m, and the extension of, both the main and sub- • 

roads of the Eepublic. Whereas in former times the 

roads were only passable in the dry season, and were 

even then very trying to travellers on account of the 

dust encountered, while in the wet season they became 

mere morasses, to-day they are in the majority of cases 

so well built and so carefully maintained that even 

m the wet season of the year it is quite possible to 

use them. -i r ^ 

This great improvement has been brought about 
mainly by the enterprise of the late President, 
General Fernando Figueroa, who evinced a keen and 
consistent interest in opening up new means of com- 
munication by making public roadways of enduring 
worth, his excellent work being actively continued by 
his present successor. ^ 

The main routes of communication in Salvador run 
longitudinally through the country, from Rio Paz and 
the city of Ahuachapan on the west, to La Union and 
the Hio Guascoran on the east. From this central 





Views on New National Road, between San Vicente and Ilopango. 



MAIN ROADS 9 

line, which connects all the important cities and towns 
of the interior, other roads run out like spurs to the 
towns and the cities to the nothward, or to those of 
the coast to the southward. Thus, from Santa Ana 
there is a road north to Metapan, and one south to 
Sonsonate and Acajutla. Ahuachapdn also has a road 
to Sonsonate via Ataco and Apaneca, two towns which 
are located high up in the mountains. At Sitio de 
Nino, on the Salvador Bailway line, there is a road 
northward to Opico. Here, also, the main road to the 
city of San Salvador divides, one branch going north 
to the volcano of that name, and the other to the 
south of it via the famous Guarumal Ravine and Santa 
Tecla. From the city of San Salvador there are roads 
north to Chalatenango via Tonacatepeque, and south 
to the port of La Libertad via Santa Tecla. 

Cojutepeque is connected by road to the towns of 
Ilobasco and Sensuntepeque to the north-east. San 
Vicente has a road to the port of La Libertad, running 
south-west via Zacatecoluca. At San Vicente the 
main east and west road separates, one branch going 
to the north of the Tecapa-San Miguel group of vol- 
canoes, via the cities of Jucuapa and Chinameca to San 
Miguel, and the other south via the city of Usulutan. 
San Miguel has several roads leading in all directions. 
There is one north to the town of Gotera, another 
north-east to the Mining District via Jocoro and Santa 
Rosa, which continues to the principal crossings of the 
Rio Guascoran ; and there is yet another, running 
nearly due east to La Union, on the Gulf of Fonseca. 

I was in the country while construction was proceed- 
ing in connection with the Ilopango-San Vicente road 
improvements, and I was much impressed with the 
thoroughness of the work being undertaken. The new 



10 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

construction was some 40 kilometres long by 6^ to 7 
metres in width (say 20 to 25 feet). It was commenced 
in 1906, and it will be finished by the end of next 
year (1912). It is estimated to cost not less than 
350,000 pesos. It is a purely Government undertak- 
ing, and ranks as one of the most important highways 
in the Republic. At first over 250 men were employed, 
but as the work progressed this number was reduced 
to 200. The highest part of the road is cut through 
the side of the mountain at 210 metres (say 700 
feet) above the shore of Lake Ilopango. The steepest- 
gradient is 7 per cent., and the minimum radius 20 feet. 
The most expensive part was that between Kilometre 14 
and Kilometre 13, where extremely hard rocks have 
had to be cut through. At one point ten men were 
engaged for a period of nine months upon the most 
difficult part, and they were suspended from above by 
ropes, in order to reach and to cut down the massive 
timber trees obstructing progress. 

The Chief Engineer engaged by the Government to 
undertake this contract is Sefior Don Juan Luis 
Bueron, a German by birth, having seen the light at 
Konigsberg ; but he is a United States citizen by 
adoption. Senor Bueron is now seventy-eight years of 
age, and although he is getting rather beyond active 
hard work, his valuable experience and shrewd judg- 
ment are much appreciated by the Government in all 
such matters as road construction. He has built many 
public roads in North America, he told me, and was 
also responsible for laying the track of the Havana 
(Cuba) tramways. This interesting old engineer had 
also gained some experience in Mexico before the days 
of Maximilian (1857-1869). He now occupies a position 
of comfort, and enjoys the deep respect of the hundreds 



ROAD CONSTRUCTION 11 

of peons who call him master. Senor Juan Bueron 
junior, the son, is an equally capable road engineer, 
and assists his father in his work for the Government 
of Salvador. 

Another road deserving of mention is that which 
has been put under the charge of the official engineer, 
Don Guillermo Quiros, and one which unites the town 
of Santiago-de-Maria with the port of Linares, on the 
River Lempa, passing through Alegria. The section 
from Santiago-de-Maria to Alegria has been completed, 
and it was officially inaugurated while I was in the 
Republic ; the journey from Berlin to the River Lempa 
can now be continued with much greater celerity. 
Very considerable are the advantages that this high- 
way has brought to that part of the country, in which 
are situated the most valuable coffee plantations, whose 
owners now find far greater conveniences for bringing 
the berry to the port of El Triunfo, since the road 
leading to this place has also been repaired and 
widened to facilitate the transit by beasts of burden. 
The official engineer, Don Manuel Aragon, has been 
occupied with the planning and opening of a road from 
Citala, in the department of Chalatenango, to Metapdn, 
in the department of Santa Ana. The road leading 
from this capital to the port of La Libertad is likewise 
the object of attention. The official engineer, Don 
Andres Soriano, with a gang of foremen and labourers, 
have been working for several months past repairing it. 

This highroad continually needs very large sums of 
money for maintenance. The repairs which in former 
years have been carried out have proved anything but 
lasting, owing to the serious mistakes in construction 
of an engineer who put into practice certain untried 
experiments, which completely failed. 



i2 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

It is necessary now to remedy this mistake, and 
drains and aqueducts have had to be constructed on 
the road where none previously existed, to avoid, in 
the rainy season, destruction by the strong currents of 
water rushing over it. The official engineer, Don 
Alberto Pinto, was occupied during a good part of the 
year 1908 upon road works, having made many altera- 
tions, improvements and widenings in the roads of 
the Departments of San Miguel, La Union, Usulutan, 
Chalatenango, Santa Ana and Cabanas. 

On the way from Mercedes to Jucuapa, and also 
upon the road to San Miguel, it is proposed to construct 
a bridge of stone and mortar, at the place called 
Barrancas de Jucuapa ; the chief engineer, Senor Pinto, 
has already made an estimate and sent in the corre- 
sponding plans. The cost will amount to a little more 
or a little less than $10,000. 



CHAPTER II 

Early Days of independence — " Central American Federation" — Consti- 
tutional Presidents — Executive power — Chamber of Congress — The 
Cabinet — Justice — The courts — Prisons and prisoners — Employment 
and treatment — Police force — How distributed — Education — Colleges 
and schools — State-aided education — Teaching staffs — Primary 
education — Posts and telegraphs — Improved interstate parcels post. 

The breaking away from Spanish doniinion (although 
the seeds of revolution were laid as far back as 1811) 
did not take place until ten years later, and coincided 
with the successful termination of the struggle for 
liberty which occurred in Mexico under the patriot 
priest Hidalgo. Salvador gained its freedom, com- 
paratively speaking, without bloodshed ; and on 
September 15, 1821, it was declared a free and inde- 
pendent State. In the year following an attempt was 
made to annex the country to the Mexican Empire, 
under the rule of the ambitious and unscrupulous 
Emperor Agustin Yturbide, during his very brief 
reign, in 1822. As history relates, this presumptuous 
Mexican was born in Valladolid (now known as More- 
lia) on September 27, 1783, and he was sentenced to 
death and shot on July 19, 1824. 

It is to the credit of Salvador that it was the one 
Central American State which firmly resisted the 
invasion of the Mexican troops ; but in the end it had 
to submit to a far superior force, commanded by 
General Filisola, and was then formally incorporated 

13 



14 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

into the Mexican Empire. This humiUation endured, 
however, for a very brief time, since in the following 
year Yturbide met his violent death, after which a 
Constitutional Convention was called, and in 1824 a 
Federal Republic was declared bearing the name of the 
" Central American Federation." This was composed 
of the five States — Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, 
Nicaragua and Costa Rica — the first President being 
General Manuel Jose Arce. 

Party jealousies and personal ambitions, however, 
soon brought about disintegration, and in spite of the 
efforts of some far-seeing patriots, who considered that 
in union alone lay the hope of peace, security and 
prosperity for their country, the form of government 
proved wholly impracticable. Nevertheless it con- 
tinued for a few years to struggle along. General 
Francisco Morazan, doing his best to maintain order 
and to save the union from disruption. Notwith- 
standing all his efforts, the Federation was dissolved in 
1839, and the five States again became independent 
Sovereign Republics. Three years later General 
Morazdn unwisely made another effort to reunite the 
countries ; but his attempt was treacherously rewarded 
by a conspiracy against his life, followed by his exe- 
cution in San Jos^, Costa Rica, in the month of 
September, 1842. 

Since his death various attempts have been made 
from time to time, to reunite the several Republics, 
the last effort of this kind having been prosecuted by 
General Zelaya, perhaps one of the most unscrupulous 
and dishonest, as well as one of the cruellest, Spanish- 
Americans who has ever attained supreme power. 
Whatever chances of success a United Central 
America might have had, under the auspices of a 



I 



PRESIDENTS 15 

Zelaya it could have never met with anything but 
failure. General Zelaya, in spite of frantic eiForts to 
maintain his position, was himself chased from Nicar- 
agua in 1909, and is now said to be living in Europe 
upon the proceeds of the money which he is declared 
to have filched from his country during his long and 
oppressive reign. 

In the year 1885, General Justo Rufino Barrios, 
President of Guatemala, had sought to accomplish 
what Morazdn had failed to do ; but his efforts ended 
equally in disaster. On August 13, 1886, the Con- 
stitution which is at present in force was promul- 
gated, and General Menendez was elected as first 
President under that Constitution by popular vote in 
1887, for the term ending in 1890. He was succeeded 
by General Carlos Ezeta, who was inaugurated on 
March 1, 1891. The third President was General 
Rafael Gutierrez. Then followed General Tomas 
Regalado ; Don Pedro Jose Escalon ; General Fern- 
ando Figueroa ; and the ruling President, Doctor 
Manuel Enrique Araujo. 

The form of government in vogue is that of a 
free, sovereign and independent Republic — that is to 
say, democratic, elective, and representative. The 
Constitution now in existence is contained in a 
code of articles. The Government is divided into 
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial sections. The 
Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly, 
which is composed of one Chamber, and having the 
title of the National Chamber of Deputies. This con- 
sists of 42 members, three Deputies being elected for 
each Department by direct popular vote for a term of 
one year, the right to vote being vested in every male 
citizen who is over eighteen years of age. It is to be 



16 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

observed that every Salvadorean is not only privileged, 
but is compelled to vote, thus doing his duty to the 
State. 

The Executive consists of a President and a Vice- 
President, who are elected by popular vote for a term 
of four years. In addition to being Chief Magistrate, 
the President is also Commander-in-Chief of the Army. 
In the event of a failure to elect the Executive, a 
President is chosen by a majority of votes in the 
Congress from among the three candidates having 
polled the largest number of votes in the popular 
election. He is not eligible for re-election either as 
President or as Vice-President until four years shall have 
elapsed. The date of the Executive's inauguration is 
on March 1 following the election, which is usually 
held in the month of November. 

The administration of each of the fourteen different 
Departments is in the hands of a Governor, who is 
selected by the President from personal knowledge of 
both his capacity and temperament. Besides adminis- 
tering the civil affairs of the territory under his juris- 
diction, this ofi&cial is usually either a military man or 
one possessed of adequate military knowledge ; and he is 
thus Commandant of the military of his Department. 

It was my pleasure to meet, and spend some con- 
siderable time in the company of, many of the 
Governors of the different Departments, and I was 
deeply impressed with their general thoroughness of 
purpose, their keen desire in all cases to further the 
interests of their Departments, and to apply to their 
benefit any and every advantage which could be 
adapted from the governments of other countries. 

The municipalities, on the other hand, are managed 
entirely by their own officials, all of whom are elected 



MUNICIPALITIES 17 

by the people themselves. The officials comprise an 
Alcade, or Mayor, a Syndic and several E-egidores, or 
Aldermen, these being numbered according to the size 
of the population. A good deal of competition exists 
for office, and at the time of election much amusement 
is derived from watching the canvassing in progress. 
There is a decidedly healthy appearance of municipal 
enterprise in most of the towns of Salvador, and, taking 
these as a whole, they seem to be uncommonly well 
administered. In the accepted sense of the word, there 
is no real poverty, no slums, no crying " graft " scandal 
demanding redress, as in our much-vaunted civilization, 
and such charities as are rendered necessary in the 
form of hospital relief and medical attention are 
rendered cheerfully and as a matter of course, entail- 
ing neither a favour nor a dependence upon either 
party. 

In Salvador, as in all the Latin-American Republics, 
the President is a reality, and not a mere figure-head. 
He makes his presence felt, and yet, in a perfectly 
constitutional manner ; he associates the form of a 
democracy with the reality of government. For many 
years past the people have had, and have to-day, an 
excellent example of a thoroughly sensible and dignified 
Chief Executive, who has firmly upheld the good name 
of the country and piloted it with a strong, and even 
masterly, hand through a maze of difficulties. Of 
General Fernando Figueroa as of Doctor don Manuel 
Enrique Araujo, it may truthfully be said that they 
have kept before them a lofty ideal of the honour of 
their nation, and one which has been the one incentive 
in guiding their policy. The whole demeanour of these 
distinguished men has been productive of the country's 
esteem, while their real Qualities for administration 

2 



18 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

have not been denied even by their most determined 
pohtical opponents. 

The personnel of the present Ministry in Salvador 
reflects the best inteUigence and the greatest adminis- 
trative abihty of that country, the President having 
selected from among the former members of the 
Cabinet, and added to their number, such persons as 
enjoy the confidence of the majority of the Congress ; 
and he has retained them as his advisers and his 
coadjutors so long as, and not longer than, that con- 
fidence contiaues. The present Cabinet consist of the 
following : 

MiNiSTEKs OR Secretaries of State. 

Foreign Affairs, Justice and Beneficence : Doctor don Francisco Duefias. 
Interior, Industry ("Fomento"), Public Instruction and Agriculture: 

Doctor don Teodosio Corranza. 
Finances and Public Credit : Don Eafael Guirola, D. 

Sub-Secretaries of State. 

Foreign Affairs : Doctor don Manuel Castro, R. 

Justice and Beneficence : Doctor don Jose Antonio Castro, V. 

Interior : Doctor Cecilio Bustamente. 

Industry (" Fomento") : Ingeniero Jose Maria Peralta Lagos. 

Public Instruction : Doctor Gustavo Baron. 

Agriculture : Don Miguel Dueiias. 

Finance and Public Credit : Don Carlos G. Prieto. 

War and Marine : Don Eusebio Bracamonte. 

Perhaps it is the Ministry of the Interior which is 
charged with the most numerous and most important 
sections. Upon this Department depend the General 
Direction of the Post-Office ; the General Direction of 
the Telegraph and Telephones ; the General Direction 
of Police ; the Direction of the National Printing 
Establishment ; the Direction of the Superior Council 
of Health ; the General Direction of Vaccination, as 
well as of the Municipal Treasury and many other small 




H. E. Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo ; 

President of the Republic of Salvador 1911-1915. 



I 



ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE 19 

offices that complete the establishments included in 
the public administration. 

The number of measures carried out by this one 
Ministry during the years 1907 and 1908 amounted, 
more or less, to 3,600. The subjects that came under 
the jurisdiction of the Secretaryship of State are also 
many and complex ; and in order to attain results 
they demand both constant attention and an intimate 
knowledge of the administrative laws, the many 
special regulations, the numerous statutes and disposi- 
tions which exist, as well as any quantity of minor 
laws. 

The Judicial Power is vested in a Supreme Court, 
which holds its sittings in the city of San Salvador ; 
two District Courts, which are also held in the city ; 
District Courts which are held in the cities of Santa 
Ana, San Miguel, and Cojutepeque, as well as periodi- 
cal Circuit Courts held in different districts ; and 
there is a long list of Justices of the Peace. 

The Justices of the Supreme Court are elected by 
the National Assembly for a term of two years, while 
the Judges of the First and Second Instance are 
appointed by the Supreme Court for a term of two 
years. The Justices of the Minor Courts are elected 
by popular vote. 

As in most Latin- American countries, the course of 
justice is not always speedy, all depositions, no matter 
how trivial the case under trial may be, nor whether 
it be civil or criminal, having to be laboriously written 
out, "examination-in-chief" and "cross-examination" 
being practices little known. Naturally, an immense 
amount of valuable time is thus consumed, and the 
results are anything but conclusive. 

To a considerable extent the administration of 



20 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

justice in Central America is based upon the same 
principles as those in force in the United States, and 
it is generally admitted, especially by those who have 
suffered from them, that these are far from perfect. 
The theory of Latin- American justice is excellent, such 
theory being that every man is entitled to justice 
speedily and without delay, freely and without price. 
We all know that this is not the experience of 
litigants generally, and in no part of Latin America 
can the administration of justice be considered entirely 
perfect. Salvador is not worse off than any of its 
neighbours in this respect, while, on the other hand, 
there is a decided amount of respect entertained for 
the judiciary, and few verdicts have been given which 
have called forth any protest, nor many rulings handed 
down which have excited conflict among the public. 

Travellers in Latin-American countries, more often 
than not such as pay but a very superficial visit to 
those lands, are in the habit of drawing pitiful pictures 
of the cruelty practised upon prisoners and injustice 
shown towards litigants, and they indulge in harrowing 
accounts of " nauseating filth," " poisonous stenches," 
"germs of disease," "bad food," and numerous other, 
blood-curdling horrors. However true such descrip- 
tions of some countries are, and I rather imagine that 
most of them are the outcome of vivid imagination on 
the one hand and of blind prejudice upon the other, it 
is certain that nothing of this kind can be truthfully 
said about Salvador. 

It would be ridiculous to suppose that this Republic 
more than any other builds luxuriously-equipped and 
comfortable prison-houses, to act as an encouragement 
for the committing of crime. The object of punish- 
ment, we are told, is prevention of evil, and we all 



PRISONS 21 

know that under no circumstances can it be made 
incentive to good. The punishments inflicted upon 
Salvadorean prisoners are based upon much about the 
same scale as in other countries ; but the physical 
condition of the prisoners as a whole is infinitely 
better than that which is to be met with in any other 
Latin-American country, with the two exceptions of 
Peru and Mexico.* Of all three countries I may say 
with every justice that the present prison system is of 
a much more lenient and humane nature than that of 
any other country in either the old or new world. I 
state this deliberately and after having visited most of 
the prisons in Latin- American Kepublics, as well as 
many of those to be found in Europe and the United 
States. 

It is the object of the Government of Salvador to 
make as much use of prisoners' services as is legitimate, 
and at the same time to find for them intelligent and 
useful occupations. While hard work is not always 
compulsory, and is not always an accompaniment of a 
sentence to imprisonment, every encouragement is 
oflered to prisoners to engage themselves in some kind 
of work ; and in many instances substantial payments 
are derived from some of the work thus undertaken, 
all such payments being carefully preserved for the use 
of the prisoners, and handed over to them at the time 
of their release. Thus, for instance, in the Peniten- 
ciaria Central, at San Salvador, which is the chief 
penal establishment in the Bepublic, many of the 
prisoners are engaged in making furniture for the 
public offices, as well as military and police uniforms, 
boots, etc., likewise for use in the army and the police 

* See " Mexico of the XXth Century," vol. i., pp. 79, 83, 86, and vol. ii., 
pp. 101, 143, by the same Author, 



22 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

force. I am not sure whether any payment is made 
to prisoners for this kind of contribution ; but in other 
penal estabhshments which I visited I observed that 
the prisoners were making baskets, mats, toys, and 
other small articles, which were oftered to visitors for 
a trilliuo; sum, and in other cases were sent to the 
public market for sale. 

At the Penitenciaria at Santa Ana the same method 
was in vogue with regard to employing prisoners, some 
remarkably good furniture, police clothing, and military 
boots and shoes, bemg turned out here also. In this 
establishment, as well as in others, the utmost cleanli- 
ness prevails. The long rows of airy and well- 
ventilated cells are well lio-hted, the walls and ceilinofs 
being whitewashed and the floors, built of red brick, 
kept scrupulously clean. No furniture of any kind is 
allowed to remain in the cells during the day, but at 
nio'ht mattresses with clean blankets are thrown down 
side by side, and the prisoners sleep with their day- 
clothes folded up and placed under their heads or 
deposited under the mattresses. 

In other cells there are light canvas or wooden cots 
of an easily detachable nature, which are folded up 
and put away during the daytime, so that the cells 
are always free from encumbrances of any kind. 
Prisoners are allowed to move about freely (unless 
under very severe punishment due to violence) from 
the cells to the vard, and most of them are eno-aged 
during the daytime in weaving baskets, sewing 
materials, or doino; some other kind of work which 
may be congenial to them. They are not compelled 
to wear any special form of clothing nor a degrading 
uniform, while some are even permitted to smoke. 

Althouorh strictlv o-uarded bv armed soldiers. I did 



"O" --"^"^"V o 



POLICE 23 

not, when I visited these estabUshments, witness a 
single instance of brutahty or overbearing demeanour 
on the part of these guardians ; on the other hand, 
there seemed to be a sort of fraternity between them 
and their wards, chatting and laughter proceeding, 
apparently, without objection upon the part of the 
Governor or Superintendents. 

The area of the prison cells was in no case less than 
10 feet by 6 feet, and in some instances it was found 
to be considerably larger. All ablutionary exercises 
take place in the paved yard of the prison, and 
prisoners are compelled to bathe at least once a week 
in the open air ; those who are so inclined may take a 
bath once every day. The food, which I had the 
opportunity of tasting, seemed thoroughly wholesome 
and plentiful, meat being provided in quantities as 
well as boiled maize, beans (fiijoles), and coffee of 
excellent quality. 

I can only repeat that, from close personal observa- 
tion, I am unable to endorse any of the harrowing 
descriptions of prison barbarities, which I have referred 
to above, as applying in any way to Salvadorean 
penitentiaries. 

Considerable attention has been paid to the estab- 
lishment and maintenance of a thoroughly efficient 
Police Force, by the late Director-General, General 
Enrique Bara, who has studied the question of Police 
administration in Europe and the United States, and 
has applied most of the good points which he found 
existing there to the Police organization in the 
Republic of Salvador. 

AH Police are under the control of the Minister of 
the Interior — Ministerio de Gobernacion — although 
the organization itself is a military one. The severest 



24 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

discipline is maintained, and the men are moderately- 
well paid. They seem, moreover, to be drawn from 
the better classes instead of from the worst, as is so 
often, unfortunately, the case in some parts of Latin 
America. 

All the larger towns, such as Santa Ana, San Miguel, 
Sonsonate, La Union, etc., have their own well- 
organized Police Force, each placed under a responsible 
officer, but all of them directly dependent upon, and 
subject to control from, the Capital. Especial care is 
taken to organize both the day and night corps, and, 
as a consequence of the strictness which is maintained, 
very few robberies, and scarcely any murders, take 
place nowadays in the Capital or chief towns. 

The Superior Officers of the Police Force consist of 
the following : 

1 Director-General. 

1 Sub-Director. 

1 Secretai-io de la Direccion (Secretary to the Director-General). 

1 Tesorero Espeelfieo (Special Treasm-er). 

1 Instructor. 

1 Ayudante de la Direccion (Adjutant to the Director). 

1 Juez Especial de Poheia (Special PoHce Magistrate). 

1 Secretario del Juzgado de PoUcia (Secretary to the PoUce Magistrate). 

1 Guarda-Alniaeen ^Storekeeper). 

1 Eseribiente de la Direccion (Amanuensis to the Director). 

1 Eseribiente del Juzgado (^Amanuensis to the Magistrate). 

1 Eseribiente de la Comandaneia (Amanuensis to the Commandant). 

1 Medico del Cuerpo (^Doctor to the Corps), 

1 Practicante (Assistant-Sm-geon). 

1 Telegi'afista (^Telegraphist). 
3 Barberos (^Barbers). 

2 Asistentes (Assistants). 

The present Director-General of the Police is General 
Gregorio Hernandez A., who was appointed in the 
month of May last (1911). 

The Capital is divided up into seven different 
districts or zones, each zone being policed as follows : 



POLICE 



25 



Zone 1 : 1 Comandante (Chief Superintendent in Charge), 1 Sergeant, 

4 Inspectors, and 60 Policemen. 
Zone 2 : Same as Zone 1. 

Zone 3 : 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 3 Inspectors, and 60 Policemen. 
Zone 4 : 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 64 Policemen. 
Zone 5 : 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 64 Policemen. 
Zone 6 : 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 56 Policemen. 
Zone 7 : 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 40 Policemen. 

In this last zone the policemen are mounted. 
The different Departments are also well policed, as 
follows ; 

New San Salvador (Santa Tecla), having 1 Comandante (Superintendent 

and Director), 2 Inspectors, and 40 Policemen. 
Sonsonate : 1 Comandante (Superintendent and Director), 1 Sub-Director, 

1 Secretario, 3 Inspectors, and 32 Policemen. 
Cojutepeque : 1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 25 Policemen. 
Atiquizaya: 1 Director, 1 Inspector Secretario, 1 Sub-Inspector (or 

Second Inspector), and 15 Policemen. 
San Vicente : 1 Comandante (Director), 3 Inspectors, and 21 Policemen. 
Ahuaehapan : 1 Director, 1 Secretario, 3 Inspectors, and 27 Policemen. 
Chalchuapa has two Zones, which are poUced as follows : First : 

1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 27 Policemen. Second : 1 Director, 

2 Inspectors, and 18 Policemen. 

Santa Ana : 1 Director, 1 Sub-Director, 1 Secretario, 1 Guarda-Almacen, 
2 Escribientes, 150 Policemen, 1 Comandante de Dragones, 1 Ser- 
geant, and 40 Mounted Men. 

San Miguel : 1 Director, 1 Sub-Director, 4 Inspectors, and 57 Policemen. 

La Union : 1 Director, 1 Sub-Director, 3 Inspectors, and 40 Policemen. 

Zacatecoluca : 1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 18 Policemen. 

The total personnel of the Salvadorean Police Force 
is as follows : 



In the Capital (including the Sup 

mentioned) 
New San Salvador (Santa Tecla) 
Sonsonate 


erior Officers abov 


e 

454 men. 
. 43 „ 
.. 38 „ 


Cojutepeque . . . 
Atiquizaya 
San Vicente ... 




• 


. 28 „ 
. 18 „ 
. 25 „ 


Ahuaehapan . . . 
Chalchuapa ... 
Usulutto 




■ 


. 32 „ 
. 20 „ 
.. 21 „ 


Santa Ana 




. 


. 174 „ 


San Miguel 
La Union 




• 


.. 63 „ 
.. 51 „ 


Zacatecoluca ... 




.. 


. 21 „ 




Total 


. 


. 988 men 



26 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

The Government of Salvador are of opinion, and 
very rightly so to my thinking, that inasmuch as 
education is compulsory it ought to be free, since 
the State, by depriving parents of the labour of their 
children, entails some sacrifices on them. It has also 
relieved them of the burden of paying any kind of 
school fees ; and this in a country like Salvador, which 
possesses naturally a great proportion of humble in- 
habitants, to whom the payment of even the lightest 
fees would appear an immense taxation, means a great 
deal. To organize a system of collecting fees from 
among the people living long distances from the 
Capital would also have been onerous ; and the 
Government saves all this, and many other outlays, 
while procuring the best results from its educational 
system. The benefits arising, moreover, will be reaped 
by future generations, since a liberal education is a 
matter in which all citizens are interested ; and there 
is certainly no hardship in calling upon all to con- 
tribute by means of a moderate tax towards that 
end. 

As I have said, the happiest resiilts have been 
achieved by the Government's broad and comprehen- 
sive system of education in Salvador. The authorities 
combine with the municipalities in carrying out their 
arrangements, and the teachers of both sexes are 
drawn from among the best and most cultured classes 
of the community. 

There has been established since July, 1907, a Board 
of Education (Junta de Educaclon), which Is subject to 
the directorship of a specially-appointed Minister and 
Sub-Secretario of Public Instruction. In the month 
of November, 1907, an important conference was 
summoned, and held meetings at the Capital, at which 



I 



EDUCATION 27 

the curriculum to be adopted was fully discussed, and 
the plans for the carrying on of all places of private 
and public education was entirely reorganized. The 
whole system of conducting elementary, normal, and 
advanced schools, holding day and night classes, grant- 
ing scholarships and holding periodical examinations, 
has now been placed upon a thoroughly sound and 
comprehensive basis ; and it is only just to say that 
in this respect the Republic of Salvador compares 
most favourably with any country in Europe, or with 
any educational system in the United States of 
America. 

The education of the sexes is conducted in the same 
elementary schools, and not only is this found an 
economy, but the feminine mind is found here (as in 
Scotland and elsewhere) to become strengthened when 
put through the curriculum given to boys and men. 
Competition is greater between the sexes than between 
rivals of the same sex, and a correspondingly higher 
standard of achievement is obtained. It has been 
found in Latin America, where until recent years 
women were kept in ignorance and were denied the 
attainment of any but social positions in the com- 
munity, that constant intercourse between the sexes 
had led to a more perfect development of character, 
and had materially diminished shyness. Marriages 
are now made of a safer kind, and a new and more 
intelligent class of citizen is springing up, all of which 
facts will tend in due course to bring about a more 
complete political settlement and the introduction of 
permanent order among the people. Although by no 
means as yet extinct, the conventual existence for the 
women of Salvador is fast diminishing, and they are 
commencing to realize the advantages and pleasures 



28 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

of living under freer and less morbid conditions than 
formerly. 

Santa Ana seems to be essentially the educational 
centre of the Republic ; for whereas schools, colleges, 
and Universities are to be found in all of the Depart- 
ments, in Santa Ana there are no fewer than thirty- 
three such establishments, besides several private schools 
and seminaries. San Salvador has between 6 and 7 im- 
portant educational institutes, and many small private 
schools ; Cuscutlan has 8 or 9 ; La Paz, 7 or 8 ; Son- 
sonate, 5 or 6 ; while Ahuachapan, Chalatenango, 
Cabanas, San Vicente, La Union, Morazan, and La 
Libertad, are all similarly well provided. 

The teaching staff at present employed under 
Government control numbers something over 1,100, 
and is divided up into Directors, Sub-Directors, Auxil- 
iary Professors, these being composed of both the 
male and the female sex. These latter are in a small 
minority, but, still, there are over 278 Lady Directors, 
over 120 Sub-Directors, and 100 Professors. 

The proportion of pupils matriculating is extremely 
high, and in this respect the girls come very close in 
point of number, as also in the number of marks 
obtained, to the boys. The Government provides all the 
necessary books, stationery, models, apparatus, etc., for 
the use of the pupils, and these latter are not put to one 
penny expenditure for anything that they may require. 
It is considered absolutely proper and consistent with 
the dignity of the family for a Salvadorean child to 
receive a Government free education ; and as this 
is divorced from all compulsory religious instruction, 
children of all denominations, or of none, can partici- 
pate. As a matter of fact, practically all attending 
are of the Roman Catholic faith, but no dogmatic 




The 3RD Company, Sergeants' School, in Review Order. 




Company in line, Sergeants' School. 




Section of Riflemen kneeling. Sergeants' School. 



PRIMARY INSTRUCTION 29 

teaching is resorted to in any establishment under 
Government control. 

Mention should be made of the very useful and 
successful educational establishments which the Govern- 
ment has organized and supported since 1907, such as 
the Medical and Surgical College, Chemistry and 
Dental Schools, Commerce and Industry College, as 
well as the National University, which has been 
entirely remodelled and reorganized since December 15, 
1907. 

Upon several occasions the Government has found 
the necessary money to send a particularly promising 
pupil to Europe or to the United States, for the 
purposes of study and receiving the finest training 
that the world of art and letters can offer. The last 
pupil to be sent to study music at the expense of the 
Government was Sefiorita Natalia Ramos, who left for 
Italy in the month of May (1911), and is now making 
good progress there. In every sense of the word the 
Salvadorean Government has proved a " paternal 
Government " in these respects ; and many a genius 
has been rescued from probable obscurity, and much 
dormant talent has been fostered and encouraged for 
the benefit of the community at large as well as to the 
lasting advantage of the individual. 

Attention on the part of the Government is now 
being given to a further modification in the system 
of primary instruction ; and this is being effected 
gradually, it being proposed as a preliminary to 
establish several high schools throughout the country. 
A School of Agriculture, with all necessary elements 
and machinery, was inaugurated during the year 1908. 
Mixed primary schools in the country now number 132, 
with a total number of registered pupils amounting to 



30 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY &| 

34,752. Expenditures for 1907 under this head were 
nearly $400,000, and in addition there are many 
private institutions where primary instruction only 
is given. Academic teaching is in the charge of 
the National University of San Salvador, embracing 
schools of law, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, civil 
engineering, etc. 

In no other part of the Government service has 
greater improvement been manifested than in the 
Department of Posts. This Department is supported 
out of its own revenues, and the service during the 
past few years has been extended to a very consider- 
able extent, while the credit of the Central Office has 
been maintained by punctuality in the payments of 
the foreign postal service. Among the more notable 
Conventions celebrated have been those with the 
Republic of Mexico for the exchange of parcels and 
money orders, and a triweekly postal service intro- 
duced to the neighbouring Republic of Guatemala via 
Jerez ; a postal service has also been established with 
the same country via Zacapa. It is satisfactory to be 
able to state that since the inauguration of these 
additional services, which took place early in 1907, 
scarcely any interruptions have occurred, not even in 
the rainiest weather, a fact which may be attributed 
to the zeal and ability of the officials and employes of 
the Postal Department. 

The annual expenditure of this branch of the public 
service has increased from $87,084 in 1902, $102,787 
in 1903, $121,756 in 1904, $142,855 in 1905, $161,662 
in 1906, to over $200,000 in 1910. The regularity 
and rapidity with which the house-to-house postal 
deliveries take place in the Capital and principal cities 
of the Republic have frequently been noticed, and 



TELEGRAPHS AND TELEPHONES 31 

favourably commented upon, by foreigners sojourning 
in Salvador. Honesty among the employes is no less 
a feature of the postal arrangements in this Republic, 
where all public servants are reasonably paid and are as 
diplomatically handled, so that general contentment 
obtains among the large class of public servants 
employed. 

The Parcel Post Department is also exhibiting from 
year to year notable increases, as the following figures 
will show: $44,613.55 in 1901; $58,096.27 in 1902; 
$68,467.30 in 1903; $88,557.60 in 1904; $90,662.72 
in 1905 ; $93,295.80 in 1906 ; and for the first six 
months in 1907 the figures given are $51,654.86, or at 
the rate of $103,000 for the whole year. 

A Postal Convention for the exchange of money 
orders between Salvador and Great Britain was signed 
in London on June 27, 1907, in San Salvador on the 
following August 27, 1907, and, after being approved 
by the President, General Figueroa, took effect on 
September 5, 1907, the exchange offices being situated 
at San Salvador and London respectively. 

The telegraph and telephone service has also 
increased consistently, especially since 1903, at which 
time as an economic measure, and for the convenience 
of the public, a considerable reduction took place in 
the amounts of the charges. There has been a large 
increase in telephonic connections, and several new 
offices have been established, while the old ones have 
been considerably improved, necessitating large out- 
lays for this purpose, as well as for works and 
materials. Many hundreds of miles of new telephone 
and telegraph lines have been added to the system, of 
late there has been a marked increase in the telephone 
and telegraph apparatus, and the 'personnel of the system 



32 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

has been porportionately augmented. There have been 
two handsome towers constructed at San Salvador, and 
another at Santa Ana, for the introduction of wires to 
tlie Central Offices, and the system in vogue leaves 
little to be desired either in regard to efficiency or com- 
pleteness. The general budget for telegraphs and tele- 
phones has risen steadily, from a little over $260,000, 
in 1902, to over $500,000, in 1910. 

During the year 1910 the number of cablegrams 
received in the Republic were as follows : Cables sent 
from Salvador, 7,877 ; received in the Republic, 8,723. 
In those transmitted there were used 61,727 words, 
and in those received 75,950. Total of cables sent 
and received, 16,600 = 137,677 words. The amount 
represented in cost was $96,450.47, and of this the 
Government received $23,994.27. 

Considerable progress has been made in Salvador in 
connection with wireless telegraphy, this being one of 
the first — if not the first — of the Central American 
Republics to adopt the new S3'stem of communication. 
By the time these pages are in the hands of the read- 
ing public, the Government will have completed two 
additional wireless stations, one at Planes de Renderos, 
near the Capital (San Salvador), and the other at the 
Port of La Libertad. With the completion of these 
stations, wireless communication will have been estab- 
lished between the Capital and all the ports of the 
Republic. 

The electric light service used and supported by the 
Government has also increased. In 1902 the total 
cost was barely $25,000, whereas to-day it amount-s to 
over $50,01)0, exclusive of the value of subventions by 
which several of the electric light companies have been 
aided by the Government. 



THE POSTAL SERVICE 33 

In connection with the recently - held Central 
American Conference convened in Guatemala City, and 
at which representatives of all five Central American 
States were present, great improvements were resolved 
upon in reference to the postal arrangements between 
these States. It was determined, for instance, to 
introduce a much more comprehensive parcels post ; 
and although the dimensions of articles which may be 
sent were not much extended, the character of the 
commerce carried through the post was considerably 
broadened, with beneficial results to all of the different 
States. It was, among other things, decided to pre- 
vent any libellous or indecent publications passing 
through the Post- Office ; and here a distinct improve- 
ment has been made upon British Post- Office methods, 
which permit of the carrying of any sort of literature 
so long as it is covered from inspection. The Central 
American postal authorities reserve the right — and 
exercise it — to open and retain anything which they 
suspect to be of a dangerous or wrongful nature, and 
thus they act with more intelligence than some of their 
European brethren. 

The Regulation for the Control of the Postal Service, 
as passed by the Government on September 26, 
1893, was found wholly unfit for this important 
branch ; and from that date to the present, continual 
reforms have been introduced into the postal service, 
which now stands among the best regulated in Central 
America. In the Fiscal Estimate of the year 1907, 
passed by the National Congress, several notable 
economies were introduced, such as the suppression of 
some of the too numerous employes, and reduction of 
the salaries of others ; while these measures seemed 
opportune, they did not work well in practice, neither 

3 



34 SALVADOR OF THE T\\rENTIETH CENTURY 

did they give good results. The Ministry was obliged, 
therefore, to again make alterations in order to insure 
permanent order in the postal department. 

By a resolution of September 28 and October 24 
respectively, the Government arranged to suppress 
the office of Administrator of the Post-Offices in the 
different Capitals of the Departments, joining the 
functions of that to those of the Administrator of 
Revenues, but without augmenting the pay for this 
additional service. From this arrangement, however, 
the offices of Santa Ana, Sonsonate, and San Miguel, 
were excepted, while some others were annexed to the 
Department of the Fiscal Receiver and to the respec- 
tive telegraph-offices. 

At present the active staff of the Postal Service of 
the Republic is composed of 327 individuals, organized 
in the following departments : General Direction ; 
Departmental Administrations ; Postal Contractors. 
The General Direction is subdivided thus : Sub-Direc- 
tion ; Secretary ; Bookkeeper and Cashier ; Office of 
Postal Statistics ; Keeper of Stores ; Amanuensis ; and 
Keeper of the Archives. The Chiefs are those of the 
Foreign Department, of the Interior, of Registered 
Letters, of Parcels Post, and of Poste Restante and 
Unclaimed Letters Department. There are besides 
five Assistants, two Transmitters of Postal Specie, 
twenty - two letter - carriers, and forty - eight junior 
postmen. 

The Exchange Offices include three Administrators, 
three Superintendents, and six letter-carriers. Those 
of the first class are — six Administrators, six super- 
intendents, sixteen letter-carriers, and twenty-five 
postmen. Those of the second class are — six Admini- 
strators and eight letter-carriers. Those of the third 



EXCHANGE OFFICES 35 

class are — nineteen Administrators and an equal 
number of letter-carriers. Those of the fourth class 
are — forty-three Administrators and forty-three letter- 
carriers ; and these are again sub- administered by the 
respective municipalities. There are seven Postal 
Contractors, who have in their service some forty or 
fifty subordinates. Three Postal Agencies complete 
the service, natnely — one in Panama (Central America), 
one in the Sitio del Nino (a station on the Salvador 
Eailway), and the other in Parras Lempa. 



CHAPTER III 

Biographical — The President, Dr. Manuel E. Araujo — The ex- President, 
General Fernando Figueroa — The Cabinet — Dr. Francisco Duenas — 
Don Eafael Guirola, D. — Dr. Teodosio Corranza — Dr. Manuel 
Castro, E. — Dr. Cecilio Bustamente — Senor Jose Maria Peralta Lagos 
— Dr. Jose A. Castro, V. — Dr. E. Bracamonte — Dr. Miguel Duefias — 
Senor Carlos G. Prieto — Dr. Arturo Eamon Avila. 

Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, President of the 
Republic of Salvador, although a comparatively young 
man, has long been regarded as one of the most dis- 
tinguished scholars and politicians of his time. Born 
at Jucuapa, he came at a very early age to the Capital, 
in order to study medicine and surgery, and very soon 
he secured a wide reputation — extending, indeed, 
beyond the confines of his own country — as a great 
authority upon special medical and surgical cases. 
While still quite young, Dr. Manuel Araujo was 
married to Senorita Maria Peralta, the beautiful and 
accomplished daughter of a former President of the 
Republic, Don Josd Maria Peralta, a man who enjoyed 
universal respect and affection. 

The young politician was always a strong Liberal 
in politics, but he never permitted party spirit 
to prejudice him in respect to his public actions, 
which have, both before and since his occupancy of 
the Chief Magistracy, been characterized by complete 
independence of judgment and commendable broad- 
mindedness. Besides being the selected occupant of 

36 



PRESIDENT ARAUJO 37 

the Presidential Chair by practically all political 
parties alike, Dr. Araujo is regarded as the representa- 
tive of both the culture and the scientific professionalism 
of the country. As already mentioned, he is a very 
distinguished surgeon ; he has also invented some 
very delicate and useful surgical instruments, many of 
which may be found in the Paris and Continental 
hospitals. The Chief Executive occupies the position 
of President of the Salvador Branch of the Spanish- 
American University. In social as well as in educa- 
tional circles, Dr. Araujo is highly respected, apart from 
his exalted position ; and to foreigners he is especially 
persona grata, on account of his broad sympathies and 
general charm of manner. It will be entirely contrary 
to general expectations and present appearances if, 
during his tenancy of the Chief Magistracy, Salvador 
fails to enjoy a great industrial peace and prosperity, 
as well as a financial regeneration, such as has long 
been devised to place this State in the fore-rank of 
Latin- American countries. 

While politics in Salvador, as in so many other 
countries north and south of the Equator, have come 
to be regarded as a profession. Dr. Araujo has shown 
that he has considered them as accessories rather than 
expedients, and has carried out in principle the axiom 
that " he serves his party best who serves his country 
best." Inasmuch as Dr. Araujo occupied the position 
of Vice-President of the Republic in the Government 
of General Fernando Figueroa, it may be assumed that 
he has been in thorough accord with his policy ; and 
now that he himself occupies the same exalted office, 
no great change in the Government's projects or 
methods of carrying them into effect will result. 
That some of the youngest men have proved the 



38 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

greatest statesmen history clearly shows ; and the 
nstance may be cited of our own brilKant countryman, 
William Pitt, himself a son of the great Earl of 
Chatham, who made his first speech in the House of 
Commons when he was but twenty-two j^ears of age, 
and became Prime Minister at the age of twenty-three. 
It is the young blood and youthful activity which are 
helping to mould a successful future for the Salvador 
of to-day. 

By authority of Ai^ticle 68 of the Constitution, the 
National Legislative Assembly elected, last May, 
Seuor Carlos Melendez, Dr. Fernando Lopez, and 
General Juan Amaya, First, Second and Thu'd 
Designates respectively, to succeed to the Presidency 
of the Republic in case of a vacancy occurring during 
the present term. 

General Fernando Figueroa, President of the 
Republic from 1907 to 1911, was born in San Vicente. 
Even when a small boy his disposition led him to a 
military career, and while still in his teens he enlisted 
in the ranks of the Salvadorean Army, during the 
memorable struggle with Guatemala of 1863. Lender 
the command of General Bracamonte, he became a 
Lieutenant, and speedily distinguished himself in the 
field. He was on this occasion very severely wounded, 
and also was specially mentioned in despatches. After 
the death of General Gerardo Barrios, and the election 
of Dr. Dueiias as President, young Fernando Figueroa 
was given his captaincy. He was mainly instrumental 
in organizing the mihtia, and in 1S71 he put its 
capabilities to the test when the war in Honduras 
broke out. Upon the overthrow of the Government of 
Dr. Duenas, and the selection of Marshal Santiago 
Gonzalez as Provisional President, peace was proclaimed 




General Fernando Figueroa, President of the Republic of Salvador 

1907-1911. 



EX-PRESlDENT FIGUEROA 39 

with Honduras, General Medina being recognized as 
legitimate President, and young Figueroa's services 
were temporarily unneeded. In 1872, however, Captain 
Figueroa was again fighting in territory belonging to 
Honduras, namely at Sdbana Grande and Santa 
Barbara, his gallant services at the first-named place 
gaining for him his lieutenant-colonelcy. In the 
following year, 1873, Colonel Figueroa distinguished 
himself in a third expedition against Honduras, at 
which time the President of the Republic was Senor 
Celio Arias, but who, by Salvador's aid, was dis- 
possessed of the Chief Magistracy in favour of General 
Ponciano Leiva. Colonel Figueroa's bravery at the 
Battle of Amapala, and his gallant support of General 
Juan Jose Samayoa, have become important facts in 
Salvadorean history. 

This same year he was appointed Governor of his 
native Department, San Vicente. In 1876, after fi:esh 
exploits in the field, the rising young soldier became a 
General, and with this military advancement he assisted 
the same year at the Battle of Pasaquina, in which he 
was once again seriously wounded. The events of 1876 
led to further civil war, which continued with but few 
important intervals of peace until 1885, and during 
which period Marshal Santiago Gonzalez fell from power, 
and Dr. Rafael Zaldlvar replaced him as President. 
At this time, also. General J. Rufino Barrios died on 
the battle-field of Chalchuapa, and General Figueroa 
was given the supreme command of the Government 
troops against the Revolutionists, who were headed by 
General Francisco Menendez. The latter having suc- 
ceeded in attaining position as head of the State, 
General Figueroa retired temporarily ; but he returned 
with the inauguration of the administration of General 



40 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Carlos Ezeta, and was again appointed to his former 
post of Governor of San Vicente. Later on he was 
nominated Minister of War, which position he resigned 
upon becoming candidate for the Presidency. He was 
duly and constitutionally elected in November of 1906, 
took office on March 1, 1907, and retired automatically 
with the fresh elections of 1910, to give place to Dr. 
Manuel Enrique Araujo, the present Chief Magistrate. 

During his long and honourable career, General 
Figueroa has been distinguished as much for his 
brilliant soldier-like qualities as for his personal work 
and high sense of probity. He has had — as have all 
great men — his enemies and his detractors ; but none 
among them can bring — nor ever have brought — any 
charge against his personal honour or integrity. 

It was his keen patriotism and shrewd diplomacy 
which arrested the three-cornered armed conflict in 
which Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, were con- 
cerned in 1907, and but for General Figueroa's tact 
and good sense, coupled with his masterly grasp of 
the situation, these three sister States would have 
exhausted themselves over a dispute which was prac- 
cally worthless, and would have proved just as 
fruitless. 

The Minister for Foreign Affairs is Dr. don Francisco 
Duenas, a barrister, and a very distinguished member 
of the profession. Born in San Salvador, and forty-three 
years of age. Dr. Duenas has occupied several important 
positions in the legal profession, and he is looked upon 
as one of the soundest authorities on commercial and 
general law. The Minister is regarded as an extremely 
able man, who is bound to rise to the highest position 
which the State can confer upon him. 

The Minister of Finance is Seiior don Eafael 



THE MINISTRY 41 

Guirola, D., a thoroughly sound, practical business 
man, with a wide knowledge of finance and commerce 
in all its branches and a member of one of the leading 
families. He may be depended upon to adopt a com- 
prehensive and intelligent view of all subjects per- 
taining to his Department, and it may be accepted as 
certain that he will give wide encouragement to such 
foreign enterprise as can be regarded as of benefit to 
the State. Senor Rafael Guirola, D., is forty-five 
years of age. 

The Minister of the Interior, Industry ("Fomento"), 
Public Instruction and Agriculture, Dr. don Teodosio 
Corranza, is also one of the most prominent lawyers in 
the Republic. He was born in San Salvador, and is 
about fifty-two years of age. He has occupied some 
of the most important and responsible posts in the 
country, and is considered by all alike as lending both 
distinction and prominence to his high office. 

Dr. don Manuel Castro, R., Sub-Secretary of State 
for Foreign Affairs, is a barrister by profession, and 
a distinguished member of the Salvador Academy. 
Although only twenty-seven years of age, Dr. Castro 
has already filled with great distinction several 
important positions in the legal profession, and 
he is regarded as a rising *'star" in the political 
firmament. 

The portfolio for Home Affairs has been entrusted 
to the capable hands of Dr. Cecilio Bustamente, who 
is also a distinguished lawyer, as w^ell as the writer 
of several books of more than ordinary merit. On 
several occasions Dr. Bustamente has occupied a 
position on the Bench, his judgments and rulings 
always having commanded deep respect, and invari- 
ably being the outcome of calm consideration and 



42 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

much forensic learning. Dr. Bustamente is about 
thirty-eight years of age. 

PubKc Instruction is under the direction of Dr. Gus- 
tavo Bar6n, who is three years younger than Dr. 
Bustamente. By profession he is a physician and 
surgeon, having taken high degrees at the Paris 
University. Before entering the present Cabinet, 
Dr. Baron served as teacher of, and lecturer upon, 
several subjects in the National University of Salvador; 
and there is probably no man in the Bepublic who 
enjoys a wider respect or a deeper regard, especially 
among his colleagues, than the present Sub- Secretary 
of Instruction and Promotion. 

The important portfolio of Public Works has been 
entrusted to the hands of Senor don Jose Maria 
Peralta Lagos, a civil engineer of great reputation in 
Central America, although only forty-two years of age. 
For many years past Senor Peralta Lagos has been 
interested in engineering undertakings, and there can 
be no question that he is admirably fitted both by 
experience and long study of current engineering 
subjects for the high and responsible position which he 
occupies. 

The portfolio of Justice is in the hands of Dr. don 
Jose Antonio Castro, Y., a young but very brilliant 
man, his age being only twenty-eight years, and who 
is a barrister by profession. 

War and Marine are represented by Don Eusebio 
Bracamonte, a counsel of great reputation, and who 
for a considerable time occupied the position of Chief 
Justice of the High Court of Salvador. Dr. Braca- 
monte is forty-three years of age. 

The portfolio of Agriculture is in the hands of 
Don Miguel Duenas, who has devoted many years to 



MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE 43 

a careful study of agriculture in all its branches, and 
has, from his experience and the careful observation of 
the methods employed in foreign countries, intimately 
acquainted himself with all modern methods, many of 
which he has personally introduced upon his own 
country estates. Senor Duenas, who is forty years of 
age, has travelled very considerably in the United 
States and in Europe, and he speaks both English 
and French with considerable facility. For some 
years past he has been a Member of Congress, while 
he is also the Founder and the President of the 
Salvadorean Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, 
an institution which has already conferred considerable 
benefits upon the State. 

Senor Carlos G. Prieto, Sub-Secretary of Finance 
and Public Credit, is forty-five years of age, and a 
sound authority upon finance and commerce generally. 

It is worthy of mention that the Ministry of Agri- 
culture in Salvador is an entirely new creation, and 
owes its existence to the ruling President, Dr. Manuel 
E. Araujo. Considering the immense interest which 
Salvador has in agriculture, and bearing in mind the 
fact that upon its intelligent pursuit depends, to a 
very large extent, the prosperity of the country, it 
is surprising that a Department for Agriculture should 
not have been previously instituted. This is probably 
due to the fact that the late Ministry was disinclined 
to add further to the burden of expenditure in con- 
nection with the government of the country ; but the 
additional expenditure incurred in the establishment 
of this Department has been abundantly justified by 
results, and there is very little question that, if for 
nothing else, the Presidency of Dr. Araujo will stand 
out prominently in connection with a governmental 



44 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

creation which has long been needed, and which is 
already proving thoroughly useful. 

A new branch of the Government service has been 
established within the past few months in the form of 
an Information Bureau, which should prove of great 
utility to manufacturers and shippers, if they desire 
to avail themselves of it. Already several North 
American firms have done so, and, as I understand, 
with some material advantage, the existence of the 
department having been brought to the attention of 
United States commercial men by the very up-to-date 
and shrewd American Consul-General at San Salvador, 
Mr. Harold D. Clum. I have not heard that any 
attention has been directed to the institution by the 
British Board of Trade. 

The Salvador Congress authorized, and the Ministry 
of Agriculture maintains, this Information Bureau, to 
report upon the orders which the various departments 
of the Government may consider it expedient to 
place abroad or upon the home market. The law 
provides that Government orders shall be placed only 
after, and presumably upon the basis of, a report from 
this Bureau ; so that it is a distinct advantage to 
manufacturers and others, who desire to market goods 
in which the Government might be interested, to send 
their catalogues (but printed in Spanish, and not in 
English) with price lists (but calculated in decimal 
measurements and coinage, and not in "£ s. d."), as 
well as their proposals, to the Bureau. All such com- 
munications should be addressed : " Oficina de Infor- 
macidn, Ministerio de Agricultura, San Salvador." And 
let it be remembered that the postage upon letters 
is 2id.! 

The young and vigorous blood of which the Sal- 



DR. AVILA 45 

vadorean Cabinet is composed is perhaps one of its 
strongest and most promising features, and the excel- 
lent impression which its formation created last March 
has been confirmed in every way since it got to work 
and proved the quality of its members for governing 
the country wisely and economically. 

It would, under ordinary circumstances, perhaps be 
difficult to replace the valuable services which, for 
fifteen years past, have been rendered by Mr. Mark 
Jamestown Kelly, F.E..G.S., as Consul- General for the 
Republic of Salvador to the United Kingdom, with 
residence in London, and to whom full reference has 
been made in a preceding page ; but it will be 
generally admitted that the Government has made a 
very wise and a very acceptable selection in Dr. Artiiro 
Ram6n Avila. The new Consul-General is a native of 
San Miguel, and belongs to one of the leading families 
of the country, and occupying a very high social 
position in the Republic. 

Although only twenty-seven years of age. Dr. Avila 
has already attained some celebrity in his own country, 
and has received the degree of Doctor of the Faculty 
of Jurisprudence, a title which was conferred upon him 
by the National University of Salvador. In 1907 
one of Dr. Avila's most notable achievements was the 
composition of a " paper " which he read before the 
Tribunal of Examination, this being a learned thesis 
upon the subject of " The Duel" ("El Duelo"), con- 
sisting of 100 pages, and pronounced by literary 
critics as about the most clever and most convincing 
essay which had been written upon the subject. 

Previous to entering upon his profession as an 
advocate, Dr. Avila served as a Justice of the Peace 
for one year in the Capital of Salvador, being later on 



46 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

appointed Judge of the First Instance. He occupied 
a similar position in the Civil and Criminal Courts of 
Santa Tecla (New San Salvador), and held that post 
for two years. Dr. Avila had also for some time been 
advocate - in - chief for the Banco Salvadoreno, of 
Salvador, and he represented legally various other 
reputable houses of commerce. Dr. Avila holds the 
position of Consul-General of the Eepublic of Salvador 
for Great Britain and Ireland, and has taken con- 
venient offices at 8, Union Court, Old Broad Street, 
London, E.C. 

Senor Santiago Perez Triana, who has for some time 
been a resident in London, entered the service of the 
Salvadorean Government as Secretary of the Legation 
in 1900, under Dr. Zaldivar, and accompanied him to 
the Spanish-American Congress which met in Madrid in 
December of that year. Senor Perez Triana's capacity 
was that of second delegate of Salvador, Dr. Zaldivar 
being chief of the Mission, the third Attache, who 
occupied a similar position to that of Senor Perez 
Triana, being Senor M. Bodriguez. Subsequently 
Senor Perez Triana was appointed Secretary of the 
Legation of Salvador in Spain. Since 1901, when he 
went to the last-named country to reside, he occupied 
the dual position of Charge dAffaires both in Madrid 
and in London ; and he still occupies a similar position 
in the latter city, but not in Spain. In 1907 Senor 
Perez Triana was appointed Delegate to the Hague 
Conference for Salvador, jointly with Mr. P. J. 
Matheu. He is a quite remarkable orator and a man 
of great culture, speaking English with complete 
accuracy and writing it with equal facility. 

In connection with the Coronation of Their Majesties 
King George and Queen Mary, in the month of June 




Dr. Arturo Ramon Avila ; 

Consul-General for the Republic of Salvador to Great Britain. 
Api'ointed May, 1911. 



SENOR MIGUEL DUE:NAS 47 

last, the Salvadorean Government sent to London 
an Extraordinary Mission to represent the Republic, 
selecting for the purpose Senor J. Miguel Duenas 
who by birth and education was well fitted to fill so 
important a position. Senor Duenas was born in the 
city of San Salvador on August 28, 1871, and is a son 
of an ex-President of Salvador, Dr. Francisco Duenas, 
and Donna Terdsa Dardano. After a brilliant college 
career, pursued both in his own country, in the United 
States, and in Europe, Senor Duenas returned in 1895 
to Salvador, where he was soon afterwards elected by 
popular vote as Deputy to the National Congress of 
the Republic. He also became an active member of the 
Municipal Council, and is the Founder and President 
of the Salvador Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture 
in Salvador. He retains his position as Secretary of 
State for the Department of Agriculture, which, as 
mentioned previously in this volume, was brought into 
existence upon the initiative of the present President 
of the Republic, Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, this 
being one of his first official acts after assuming 
the Presidential chair, in the month of March last. 
Accompanying Senor Duenas was his wife, Senora 
Donna Maria Eugenia Palomo. 

The new Minister of Salvador in Spain and Italy, 
with residence at Madrid, is Dr. don J. Gustavo 
Guerrero, who was for many years Consul-General for 
Salvador at Genoa, and acted as First Secretary of the 
Special Diplomatic Mission of Salvador to the Court of 
St. James in connection with the Coronation of King 
George Y. He is one of the several young men of 
great promise in Salvador, and is destined to go far. 
He is, moreover, a distinguished advocate, having 
taken high degrees at the Universities of San Salvador 



48 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

and Guatemala City. He has acted as Deputy 
Governor at the first-named Capital, as well as Consul 
at Burdeos, Consul at Genoa, Secretary of Legation 
at Washington, and Charge d'Affaires at Borne and 
Madrid. 

In the month of May last (1911) Senor don Nicolas 
Leiva was appointed Consul for Salvador at Liverpool, 
which port carries on a fair amount of trade with the 
Bepublic. 



CHAPTER IV 

Government finances — London Market appreciation" of Salvador bonds 
— History of foreign debt — Salvador Railway security — Central 
American Public Works Company — Changing the guarantee — Finan- 
cial conditions to-day — Public debt at end of 1909 — Budget for 
1910-11 — Small deficit may be converted into a surplus — Summary. 

The high opinion which the London Market entertains 
regarding Salvadorean Government securities is shown 
by the price at which they are quoted ; and although 
judged upon their merits, these same securities are 
rather too cheaply priced, they form a marked contrast 
to some of the neighbouring States' foreign loans, such, 
for instance, as Costa Rica and Honduras. As a 
matter of fact, the Salvadorean Governments of suc- 
cessive years have strictly and faithfully performed 
their foreign obligations ; and it has been the firm 
policy of past Presidents, as it is of the present 
Executive, to maintain their foreign credit upon an 
unassailable basis. It is possible to speak very en- 
couragingly of the Salvador 6 per cent. Sterling Bonds, 
which were issued in March, 1908, at 86 per cent., and 
which are at the present time of writing quoted at or a 
little above par. Their desirability as an investment 
depends upon the standard of security they afford — on 
the probability, that is, that Salvador will faithfully 
fulfil its obligations. The Salvador Government 6 per 
cent. Sterling Bonds (1908), amounting to £1,000,000, 
were issued to meet the cost of certain public works 
and to repay certain local loans contracted at a higher 

49 4 



50 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

rate of interest. The loan is redeemable by an accumu- 
lative sinking fund of 2 J per cent., by purchase or 
drawing, and is secured by a first charge on — (a) the 
special Customs duty of $3.60 (U.S. gold) per 100 kilo- 
grammes of imported merchandise ; and (h) the duty 
of 40 cents (U.S. gold) per quintal (up to 500,000 
quintals) of the annual export of coffee, the proceeds 
of which are remitted fortnightly to the London Bank 
of Mexico and South America, whose Chairman stated 
recently that "the rapid way in which the remittances 
are coming forward is very satisfactory, and will, no 
doubt, in time improve the credit of this small but 
hard-working country." The bonds constitute the 
whole External Debt of the country, previous loans 
having been commuted in 1899 for debentures of the 
Salvador Railway Company, to which the Government 
pays an annual subsidy of £24,000. This subsidy has 
now been punctually remitted for over nine years. It 
is on such grounds as these that the friends of Salvador 
maintain that the value of the bonds should not be 
gauged by the financial reputation of some of the 
other Central American Republics. 

It may be interesting to trace the whole history of 
Salvador's foreign indebtedness, which commenced as 
far back as 1827. The record — by no means an 
unworthy one — is as follows : 

1827 : Of the debt of the Central American Federa- 
tion — which was composed of Salvador, Guatemala, 
Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and amounting 
to £163,000 — the proportion which was assumed by 
Salvador was one-sixth, £27,200. 

1828-1859 : No interest was paid during this long 
period of turbulence and strife. 

1860 : Salvador compromised her share of the debt 
for 90 per cent, paid in cash. 



FINANCES 51 

1889 : A loan for £300,000 was issued, bearing 6 per 
cent, interest and 2 per cent, accumulative sinking 
fund. It was offered by the London and South- 
Western Bank at 95 J per cent., and was specially 
secured on 10 per cent, of the Customs duties and 
the rights of the Government on the railway from 
Acajutla to Ateos (thirty-five miles), and in the pro- 
posed extension to San Salvador. Out of the proceeds 
of the loan a mortgage of the Government's interest in 
the portion of the railroad already constructed (Aca- 
jutla to Sonsonate), amounting to £183,000, was paid 
off. The extension of the railway was only continued 
for a distance of seven miles from Ateos to La Ceiba. 

1892: Bonds for an amount of £500,000, bearing 
6 per cent, interest and 1 per cent, accumulative sinking 
fund, were created by the Government and issued by 
Messrs. Brown, Janson and Co. to the contractor Mr. 
A. J. Scherzer, in pursuance of a contract made by the 
Government with Mr. Scherzer in 1891, for the purpose 
of the extension of the railway. These bonds were 
specially secured on 10 per cent, of the Customs duties, 
and also by a first mortgage on the railway line from 
Ateos to Santa Ana (thirty miles) when built. These 
bonds were not issued to the public, but were delivered 
from time to time to the contractor, against the 
engineer's certificates, as the works proceeded. 

1894 : A company called the Central American 
Public Works Company was registered by Mr. Mark J. 
Kelly in London, and Mr. Kelly was associated with 
Mr. Scherzer in carrying out this contract, and in 
the month of April a concession was obtained from 
the Government under which the contract of 1891 
was cancelled. The Central American Public Works 
Company undertook to complete the line to Santa 
Ana ; to build a branch from Sitio del Nino to 



52 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

San Salvador (twenty-four miles), together with a 
deviation of one and a half miles at the port of 
Acajutla ; to give the Government £70,000 in fully- 
paid ordinary shares of the company when issued ; and 
to redeem the loans of 1889 and 1892. The Govern- 
ment, on its part, agreed to hand over to the Company 
the whole of the railways for a period of ninety-nine 
years, and to guarantee the Company for fifty years 
a net annual profit on working the railways of 6 per 
cent, upon the sum of £800,000, secured by a charge 
of 10 per cent, on the import duties. 

A change of Government took place almost immedi- 
ately afterwards, and, owing to the differences which 
then arose between the Government and the Com- 
pany, the concession was declared void. 

But in December a supplementary contract was 
entered into between the Company and the new 
Government, by which it was agreed that — (1) The 
£70,000 of shares of the Public Works Company were 
to be delivered to the Government by May 31, 1895 
(this was done, and the Company took possession of 
the completed portion of the line and commenced the 
construction of the remainder) ; (2) the duration of 
the concession was shortened from ninety- nine to 
eighty years ; (3) the guarantee was reduced from 
£48,000 a year to £24,000 during the construction 
of the line to Santa Ana, £36,000 during the con- 
struction to San Salvador, and the full £48,000 was 
not to be paid until the railway was entirely finished. 

1898 : In this year a new company, called the Sal- 
vador Railway Company, Limited, was formed to take 
over the concession from the Central American Public 
Works Company. Proposals were laid before the 
holders of the 1889 and 1892 loans to convert their 
bonds into mortgage debentures of the railway com- 



RAILWAY FINANCE 53 

pany. Some of the 1889 bondholders, however, declmed 
to signify their adherence to the scheme, and it 
was thus found impossible to arrange for the release 
of the mortgage on the first section of the railway. 
The Central American Public Works Company had, 
moreover, undertaken to deliver to the Government 
all the bonds by December, 1898 ; they therefore 
approached the Government with the object of securing 
further legislation in order to get over the difficulty. 
In this they were not at the time successful, and the 
Government declined to remit to the company the 
sum due under the guarantee for the half-year ending 
December 31, 1898. The funds for the payment of 
the February and August, 1898, coupons on the 1889 
bonds were sent by the Government direct to the 
London and South- Western Bank. The November 
1897 drawing and May 1898 coupons on the 1892 
bonds, and the July 1898 drawing and February 1899 
coupons on the 1889 bonds, were not paid. 

1899 : On February 8 of this year a further con- 
tract was entered into between the Government and 
Mr. Kelly, representing the Central American Public 
Works Company, of which the following were the 
principal provisions: (1) The company was to hand 
over to the Government for cancellation the outstand- 
ing 1889 and 1892 bonds (in round figures amounting 
to £725,000) within six months from the date of 
ratification of the contract by Congress. The company 
might, however, leave outstanding £60,000 of the 
bonds if they could not make delivery of the whole 
of them, but on these they were to pay on their own 
account the same interest (6 per cent.) and amortiza- 
tion (2 per cent.), as the Government was under 
obligation to do. (2) The Government was to pay 
the company for eighteen years from January 1, 1899, 



54 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

a fixed annual subsidy of £24,000 in lieu of the 
previous guarantee, and to hand over all the railways 
free of charge. The subsidy wscs to be secured on 
1 5 per cent, of the import duties, in respect of which 
the Government was to issue special Customs notes. 
These notes were to be handed to a bank named by 
the company, who were to sell them and collect the 
proceeds. 

The railway company engaged themselves to com- 
plete the line to the Capital by June 30, 1900. If 
the bonds of the external debt were not handed over 
within the period stipulated, the Government was 
to have the right, subject to existing hypothecations, 
to take possession of the railways. 

In April, 1899, an agreement was entered into 
between the Council of Foreign Bondholders, acting in 
conjunction with the Committee of 1889 bondholders, 
and the Central American Public Works Company, for 
the transfer to the Salvador Railway Company of the 
railways and concessions held by the Works Company, 
including the subsidy payable under the contract of 
February 8, 1899, on such terms as might be agreed 
between the Works Company and the railway company. 
The railway company were to issue (1) Prior lien 
debentures to the amount of £163,000, forming part 
of a total authorized issue of £250,000, and bearing 
5 per cent, interest and 1 per cent, accumulative 
sinking fund, to be applied by purchase or drawings 
at par. Such issue to be for the purpose of providing 
the funds for the completion of railway, repairs, work- 
ing capital, and expenses ; (2) 5 per cent, mortgage 
debentures to the amount of £660,000, to provide for 
the cancellation of the outstanding bonds of the 1889 
and 1892 loans, the debentures of the Public Works 
Company (£150,000), and other claims. 



RAILWAY FINANCE 



55 



These debentures were to be redeemable by an 
accumulative sinking fund of 1 per cent, per annum, 
commencing from August 15, 1906, to be applied by- 
purchases or drawings, at the price, in the case of 
drawings, of £103 for each £100 of debentures. The 
holders of the 1889 bonds were to receive, in respect 
of each £100 bond, £100 in mortgage debentures of 
the railway company, bearing interest from August 15, 
1899. The 1889 bonds were deposited with the 
Council against the issue of negotiable receipts, with 
two coupons of £2 10s. each attached, payable out of 
the first two instalments of the subsidy in respect 
of the coupons on each bond of £100, due February 15 
and August 15, 1899. 

This arrangement was accepted by the holders of 
the bonds of the 1889 and 1892 loans, who by the 
necessary majorities authorized the trustees of the 
loans to release the respective mortgages. It was also 
approved by the holders of the debentures of the 
Public Works Company, and was duly carried into 
effect. 



STATEMENT OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITUEE FOR THE 
LAST TEN YEARS. 



Year. 


Revenue. 


Expenditure. 


Deficit. 


1901 


7,556,721.56 


7,284,264.51 


$ 
727,542.95 


1902 


6,702,021.70 


8,459,460.84 


1,757,439.14 


1903 


6,792,045.69 


7,704,756.34 


912,710.65 


1904 


8,060,689.05 


8,759,404.63 


698,715.58 


1905 


8,536,443.07 


10,045.413.03 


1,508,969.96 


1906 


8,484,419.78 


12,246,825.76 


3,762,405.98 


1907 


8,669,189.12 


11,389,642.40 


2,720,453.28 


1908 


10,676,338.92 


12,656,656.61 


1,980,317.69 


1909 


10,776,028.65 


11,856,002.21 


1,139,903.56 


1910 


10,620,865.57 


13,027,546.96 


2,406,681.39 




$85,814,833.11 


$103,429,973.49 


$17,615,140.28 



56 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

It will be observed that, while the general revenue 
of the Republic had expanded considerably during the 
past decade, having, indeed, increased about 50 per 
cent., the expenditure had, unfortunately, expanded 
also, and to a greater degree, leaving an annually 
increasing deficit to be met. The reason for this 
during the latter few years is clear — the unfortunate 
political troubles which were thrust upon the Republic 
by the acts of certain revolutionists instigated by the 
evil genius of Central America, ex-President J. Santos 
Zelaya, and which turned what might have been a 
fairly profitable period into a disastrous one, from a 
financial aspect. 

Nevertheless, there is no reason to adopt a despair- 
ing view of the Salvadorean national finances, since 
the resources of the country are very elastic, and their 
development is but in its infancy. 

It is much to the credit of the Government, both 
the present and that which was lately in office, that 
the situation should have been so boldly and frankly 
met, the whole position being explained and true 
reasons given. Everyone must think the better of 
the authorities for their honesty in dealing with the 
nation, an honesty which is, unfortunately, rare, not 
alone among Latin-American States, but also among 
European Governments of much older growth and 
wider experience. Don Manuel Lopez Mencia, the 
ex-Minister of Finance, who is a thoroughly capable 
and experienced financier, fully grasped the neces- 
sities of the situation, and before retiring from office 
freely criticized his own Department, offering many 
valuable and timely suggestions for improving it and for 
placing the finances of the country upon a more satis- 
factory basis. I believe that the present year (1911) 



1 



PUBLIC DEBT 57 

is destined to afford a much more encouraging con- 
dition, and a continuation of the present economical 
and severe retrenchment poHcy in force ; the deficit, 
which has made an unwelcome appearance in each 
year's accounts over a period of a whole decade, will 
gradually give place to a surplus. Naturally, all 
depends upon internal peace being preserved and 
freedom from foreign political troubles ; both of which, 
happily, at the time of writing seem to be well 
assured. 

In regard to the general financial conditions of 
Salvador, which are at the present time in a much 
more satisfactory state, the following particulars will 
be of interest : 

PUBLIC DEBT. 

The composition of the Public Debt on December 31, 
1909, stood as follows : 

Gold Liabilities. 

$ Gold. $ Gold. 

Sundry cash creditors ... ... 906,585 

Bills payable ... ... ... 363,545 

National indemnity bonds ... 73,656 

External loan principal ... ... 4,744,000 

External loan interest and expenses 3,657,694 



8,401,694 



$9,745,480 Gold. 
= at 150 premium, $24,368,700 Silver. 



Silver Liabilities. 




$ Silver. 


Sundry creditors 


930,550 


Salvador bonds (principal and 




interest) 


3,564,207 


Administrative salaries, expenses, 




etc. 


836,299 


Deposits 


2,629 


Funds to be applied to special pur- 




poses 


88,022 


Various bonds ... 


113,140 




5 531 818 






Total 


... $29,898,548 Silver. 



58 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

The Public Debt of the Eepublic of Salvador on 
December 31, 1901, amounted to $10,666,584 {gold) 
= £2,133,517, and $6,207,059 {silver) = £517,256. 
Reduced to the silver unit, the total Debt amounted 
to $32,873,520. 

The Customs Revenues for 1910 show a small 
decline over those of 1909, the difference being 
$3,784.00. 

Import Duties. Export Duties. 

Sonsonate $3,522,875.05 $430,359.84 

La Union $1,086,766.03 $114,528.03 

La Libertad $554,400.57 $125,926.49 

Imjiort Duties at the General Iviports at El 

Treasury (parcels post) ... $169,638.59 Triunfo ... $215,835.19 






Totals* ... ... $5,333,680.24 $886,649.55 

The Government's whole Revenue during the first 
half of 1910 amounted to $2,972,501 {gold), and its 
expenditure to $2,677,431 {gold). 

The total import and export duties for the two years 
1909 and 1910 are as follows : 

1909. 1910. 

Imports ... $4,176,931.56 I Imports ... $3,745,249.19 
Exports ... $8,481,787.65 | Exports ... $9,122,295,09 

(These figures are in U.S. gold currency.) 



BUDGET FOR 1910-11. 

The estimates for the financial year 1910-11, 
approved by the National Assembly, and published in 
the Diario Oficial of June 6, 1910,"|" were practically 
identical with those for the preceding year. 

* These figures are in Salvadorean pesos=$0.403 U.S. gold. 

t This volume having to go to press a few weeks before the Eeturn of 
1910 will have been issued, the figures for the preceding year only are 
available. 



ESTIMATES OF REVENUE, 1910-11 59 

The details are shown below : 

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE, 1910-11. 

Customs Revenue. 

Imports : ^ Silver. 

Import duties ... ... ... ... 3,100,000 

Fiscal tax of 30 per cent. ... ... ... 600,000 

Taxes of 13.60, $2.40, and |0.50 gold per 100 

kilos ... ... ... ... ... 1,952,500 

Storage, etc. ... ... ... ... 285,000 

Sundry receipts ... ... ... ... 148,500 

Exports : 

Coffee export duty of $0.40 gold per 46 kilos ... 600,000 
Coffee export duty of $0.1% for internal de- 
velopment in the Capital .. . ... ... 75,000 

Coffee transit permits ... ... ... 80,175 

Tax of $1.50 per 100 kilos in favour of Central 

Railway ... ... ... ... 4,000 

Sundry receipts ... ... .., ... 66,557 

Internal Revenue. 

Liquor tax ... ... ... ... 2,500,000 

Stamps and stamped paper .. . ... ... 264,500 

Internal Excise ... ... ... ... 126,500 

Post-Of&ces, Telegraphs, and Telephones ... 270,250 

National Printing-office ,.. ... ... 25,000 

Penitentiaries ... ... ... ... 30,000 

Powder, saltpetre, and cartridges ... ... 65,000 

Public Registry ... ... ... ... 38,000 

Sundry receipts ... ... ... ... 88,800 





Total 


... $10,319,782 


ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE, 


1910-11. 






$ Silver. 


National Assembly 


40,980 


Presidency of the Republic ... 


41,340 


Department of Finance 


670,256 




Internal Development 


636,800 




Government 


... 1,250,463 




Foreign Affairs 


116,080 




Justice 


507.192 




Public Instruction 


714,652 




Beneficence ... 


529,336 




War and Marine 


... 2,573,510 




Public Credit 


... 3,291,260 




Total 


... $10,371,869 




SUMMARY. 




Revenue ... 


• .• ... • .• 


... $10,319,782 


Expenditure 


... 


... 10,371,869 



Estimated deficit ... ... $52,087 



60 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

In regard to this Estimated Deficit, which in any 
case is very small, it is to be mentioned that in 
November of this year (1911) an additional export tax 
upon coffee, of 30 cents {gold) per 100 kilogrammes 
comes into effect, although only for two years, and it is 
expected to produce $180,000 {gold). This additional 
revenue will wipe out the small anticipated deficit, and 
leave a considerable surplus, for the present year. 







w 




CHAPTER V 

Salvador versus Honduras and Nicaragua — Attitude of the President — 
Proclamation to the people — Generals Eivas and Alfaro — Invasion 
of Salvador — Ignominious retreat of enemy — Conciliatory conduct of 
General Figueroa — Character of Salvadorean people — Treachery of 
Zelaya. 

There is no question that but for the prompt and 
conciliatory action of General Figueroa the events 
which took place in the last months of 1907 might well 
have involved the whole of the States of Central 
America in a long, serious, and sanguinary conflict. 
As it was, sufficient provocation was given to Salvador, 
whose territory was invaded, and many of whose 
citizens were either injured or robbed. In this month, 
the invaders who came from Honduras were largely 
composed of Honduraneans, Nicaraguans, Salvadorean 
revolutionists, and American filibusters, who actually 
seized the port of Acajutla, and taking forcible posses- 
sion of engines and cars belonging to the Salvador 
Bailway Company, reached as far as the city of 
Sonsonate. The invading forces were led by Generals 
Manuel Rivas and Prudencio Alfaro, the latter being 
General Santos Zelaya's candidate for the Presidency 
of Salvador. Tx 

It was at this time that General Figueroa issued 
a fervent and eloquent appeal to the loyalty of his 
troops and his countrymen. In exhorting them to 
deeds of valour, he declared that he himself would 

61 



62 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

lead his army in defence of the national honour even 
to death, and his previous military experience would 
certainly have enabled him to have carried them to 
success. General Figueroa's " Proclamation to the 
Salvadorean People" is worth quotation in these pages, 
and I therefore give it in full as follows : 

" Compatriots : General J. Santos Zelaya, in violation of 
the faith imposed in international agreements, has broken his 
solemn obligations contracted through the intervention of 
the Governments of the United States and Mexico. At day- 
break this morning he surprised the small military force at 
Acajutla, and has landed Nicaraguan forces -with the object 
of conquest. Before this brutal offence which the Nicaraguan 
Government has committed against ns, we should all, as one 
man, gather round the flag of our country and defend it, 
letting our blood flow rather than allow it to be stained by 
the adventurers who, in an e'S'il hour, seek to defile it. The 
national honour, the deeds of our forefathers, the future of 
our children, and the lofty legends of our people, cry to us to 
arise and punish the insolence of the Nicaraguan President, 
and to preserve, not only our military glory and our interests, 
Avhich recent events in Honduras have shown to be in danger, 
but the respect that our heroic army has insphed whenever it 
has been called upon in defence of our country. 

" Soldiers : Do not permit the consummation of this insolent 
attempt in the annals of an enhghtened people which would 
fill us with shame and opprobrium, rendering us unworthy to 
preserve intact the sacred treasure of our autonomy, the 
honour of oui* %4ctorious banner and our sovereignty. Before 
permitting the arms of an audacious adventurer to ^-iolate the 
soil of oui' beloved country, whose safeguard is entrusted to 
the national army and to your undoubted patriotism, prefer 
yes, a thousand times, death "svith honour on the battle-field, 
where I Avill accompany you even to death. 

" I have full confidence in youi* loyalty and in your military 
honour, and I therefore place in your hands the sacred trust 
of the national defence. 



J 



REVOLUTIONIST LEADERS 63 

" Free and heroic peoples never retreat before the enemy, 
for they carry in their hearts the conscience of doing their 
duties and confidence in the right, which assist all worthy 
and independent peoples to repel aggression against their 
autonomy. 

" Salvadoreans : In this movement be assured that I shall 
save, untarnished, the honour of the country and the security 
of your homes, which are now threatened by the mercenary 
soldiery of the Nicaraguan ruler. 

" Your chief and friend, 

"F. FmuEEOA. 
" San Salvadoe, 

"Jtme 11, 1907." 

It is satisfactory to know that the Presidential call 
to arms, in addition to the strong personal influence 
which General Figueroa wielded, shortly afterwards 
put an end to the trouble that had threatened at one 
time to assume the most serious aspects, and to have 
involved the whole of the five States in a fierce 
struggle. Now that the threatening cloud has been 
dispersed — it may be hoped for all time — it is possible 
to smile at some of the incidents which have been 
related in connection with the embroilment. It is, 
for instance, related that the invasion of Salvadorean 
territory, the first step of which took place in the 
month of June, 1907, failed of achievement princi- 
pally on account of a personal dispute which broke 
out between the two Revolutionary Generals, Bivas 
and Alfaro. 

It is alleged that the former, on reaching the town 
of Sonsonate, after landing successfully at Acajutla, 
proceeded to the National Bank in that town, where 
he overawed the cashier (not a very brilliant achieve- 
ment, since he was only a boy) and raised what is known 
as '' a forced loan," departing heroically with the sum 



64 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

of $20,000 in silver, and nobly handing over to the 
bewildered and trembling bank official a receipt for 
that amount signed by himself as the " General of 
the new Salvadorean Army." On learning what his 
brother - commander had done, Alfaro, it is said, 
strongly objected to raising — " stealing," he described 
it — money in this manner ; and so emphatic was his 
language, and so indomitable his decision to have 
none of it, that General E-ivas refused on his part 
any longer to act with him, and the two leaders 
parted there and then, E-ivas proceeding on his way 
to the Capital at the head of his following, and Alfaro 
marching with his to Santa Ana. 

Before leaving one another, it was arranged, however, 
that the Republic of Salvador should be divided in 
half. General Rivas to rule the Eastern zone, with 
headquarters at San Salvador, and General Alfaro to 
rule the Western zone, with headquarters at Sonsonate. 
To this proposition General Alfaro also strongly ob- 
jected at first, but consented reluctantly later ; and 
while the two future victors were quarrelling as to 
what they would do with the territory which was not 
yet theirs, a messenger arrived hot-haste from the 
Capital with the unpleasant tidings that General 
Figueroa was coming in person with a train-load of 
troops to Sonsonate. 

Thereupon followed a hasty and most undignified 
retreat to Acajutla, and an eyewitness has left a 
humorous description of how the brave invaders, in 
their desire to get out as soon as possible, precipitated 
themselves into small boats, barges, and lighters, or 
any kind of thing that floated, making their way to 
the gunboat Momotomho, up the sides of which they 
scrambled helter-skelter, glad enough to be safely off 



GOVERNMENT PREPAREDNESS 65 

Salvadorean territory and once more on their way to 
the refuge of the Nicaraguan port of Corinto. 

The gunboat was obliged, as all vessels are, to 
anchor a half-mile from the Acajutla pier, men, arms, 
and ammunition having to be conveyed over that 
distance in any kind of boat of which they could 
command the use. 

At an early period of the invasion it is certain that 
General Figueroa had the situation well in hand. He 
was always popular with the army, and he likewise 
possessed the complete confidence of the Salvadorean 
people, who felt that in his strong hands the safety 
of the Republic lay. Moreover, by his excellent 
system of organizing the Intelligence Department of 
his army, and the care with which he had selected his 
officers. General Figueroa was always in complete 
possession of the plans and actions of the opposing 
force ; and even when these latter fatuously supposed 
that he knew nothing, and was doing nothing, to check 
their advance, General Figueroa was laying his plans 
with consummate ability, and, as we now know, he 
ultimately executed them with complete success. 

Dr. Alfaro, who for the nonce had become a 
" General," was never an opponent worth much con- 
sideration ; while General Eivas only displayed any 
marked ability when conspiring and organizing foreign 
troops, destined to be led to battle, when led at all, 
by others than himself The only man who had any 
chance of making serious difficulty, and who might have 
fostered formidable trouble, was Barahona, of whose 
actions and intentions the President was always fully 
aware, and who at the psychological moment con- 
signed him to the security of a prison. And there he 
kept him until the worst trouble was over. 

5 



66 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

The conciliatory measures which were adopted at 
the beginning by General Figueroa and his Govern- 
ment were adhered to throughout the upheaval, and 
it is only right that impartial history should record 
the dignified and sane proceedings which characterized 
the attitude of the Republic of Salvador at this period. 
The views which General Figueroa entertained and 
acted upon throughout are clearly reflected in an 
ofiicial communication addressed to a well-known 
American, the then Consul- General for Salvador in the 
United States. General Figueroa said : 

"Untiring enemies of the peace and repose of our people 
have once more endeavoured to create disturbances; for some 
time past my Government has received notices of what was 
transpiring^ and of the progress of the conspiracy, together 
with considerable data. This Grovernment did not, however, 
act hastily, assuming, rather, an expectative attitude, but 
nevertheless following closely the trend of affairs, until the 
moment had arrived when active work was to be begun. 

" This Grovernment early received advices from various 
parts of the country, notifying it of suspicious movements on 
the part of the enemies of the Republic. It was also noted 
that many of these left the Capital two or three days before 
for other towns, and all of them were closely followed. The 
Government was prepared for all emergencies ; barracks were 
ready, and the proper orders given to crush any movements 
on their part. Consequently, when numbers of these con- 
spirators formed in groups around such towns as Sonsonate 
and Ahuachapan, many were captured. The Government is 
now in possession of the persons of most of the authors of the 
conspiracy, and the guilty ones are being" proceeded against 
legally. Fortunately, the trouble has not interfered with the 
progress of the country, nor with the gathering of the coffee 
crop which is now in progress; while the Government has 
received assurances of sympathy and support from the great 
majority of law-abiding citizens throughout the country." 



ZELAYA THE DISTURBER 67 

In this reference to the trifling efFect occasioned to 
the cofFee crop by the political disturbances, the 
President was a little premature. The subsequent 
depression which was experienced in commercial circles 
generally was undoubtedly occasioned by these dis- 
turbances, although the consequence only proved 
transient. 

All travellers, foreigners and natives alike, who 
happened to be in Central America at this time, were 
well aware of the provocative part which President 
Santos Zelaya of Nicaragua was playing; for many 
years he had been acting as the evil genius of this 
Kepublic, and his misgovernment and brutalities to 
his own people met with general condemnation. 

There can be no question that the revolution which 
was started in Salvador, but which was so promptly 
and effectually suppressed, was promoted by Zelaya, 
who, rightly or wrongly, imagined that at the psycho- 
logical moment he would meet with support, not alone 
from Honduras, but from the United States, either 
directly or indirectly. 

There is sufficient evidence on record to prove that 
Dr. Prudencio Alfaro, who, since the death of General 
Begalado during the war with Guatemala in 1906, 
had attained some slight popularity in Salvador, was 
the instrument through whom General Zelaya hoped, 
and indeed endeavoured, to carry out his plans. The 
conquest of Salvador was only one of them, since, as 
I have mentioned in another part of this volume, it 
was the ambition of Santos Zelaya to reconstitute 
a Federation of the five Central American States, and 
then to elect himself first President. 

It was with the financial and physical assistance 
of Zelaya that Dr. Alfaro engaged the Nicaraguan 



68 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



gunboat to convey him and other conspirators from 
Corinto to Acajutla in order to spy out the land, and 
to industriously lay the seeds of revolution. It was 
nothing to Zelaya that he should allow one of the 
Government gunboats to be employed in makmg 
warfare against a friendly power, with which he had 
signed a treaty of peace only a very few weeks before, 
or to supply from the national treasury the funds for 
letting loose a horde of armed ruffians upon a neigh- 
bour's territory. 

I have been shown documentary proofs of the 
arrangements upon which Zelaya had been employed 
for many months previous, and which provided for the 
invasion of Salvador at four different points. From 
time to time changes were made in the personnel of 
the Nicaraguan commanders, but the names upon the 
lists which were shown to me were not in all cases the 
same as those of the men who actually took part in 
the abortive invasion. 

I remember, for instance, observing the name of 
General Salvador Toledo, who had previously been 
deputed to command the invading army which was 
to enter Salvador from Honduras, near the Guatemalan 
frontier ; and also that of General Estrada, who had 
been nominated to strike at the enemy with the 
Northern forces at the proper time. This General 
Estrada had been in command of the Honduranean 
forces between Puerto Cortes and the Salvadorean line, 
and he it was who numbered among his followers all 
the scum of the population, mostly consisting of 
ex-prisoners and exiles, who were willing enough 
to fight against their own country's soldiers, side by 
side with Honduraneans. 

Another name which was on the officers' list was 



1 



STATE OF SIEGE DECLARED 69 

that of General Cierra, who was to have entered the 
Republic of Salvador from the south, with the inten- 
tion of capturing the port of La Union, and of meeting 
the forces of Generals Cristales and Presa. According 
to the calculations which were then made, it was 
believed that General Cierra had only 3,000 men with 
him. 

General Figueroa at this time wisely declared the 
City of Salvador "in a state of siege," which is the 
equivalent of suspension of political guarantees, to 
enable summary action to be taken against political 
offenders or even suspects ; a condition afterwards 
extended to the whole country ; and his instruc- 
tions to the Governors of the several Departments no 
doubt saved the Central Government from consider- 
able embarrassment as the result of the rising. Those 
who led the insurrection had counted upon receiving 
support from the public, which, however, they did 
not realize, and the lack of this made the capture 
of the leaders by the Government troops a matter of 
comparative facility. Secondly, much of the incon- 
venience which would have followed a general dis- 
turbance of the affairs of the country at that time, 
and which would have caused both the Government 
and the people losses upon coffee shipments, was 
spared them, but not altogether obviated. 

As we have seen, it was altogether a clumsy attack 
which had been planned, and had better local know- 
ledge prevailed it would have been ascertained that 
the prestige of the existing Government stood too 
high, and the personal popularity of General Figueroa 
was too great, to have ever endowed this rising with 
any great chances of success. 

In this connection I think I may well quote an 



70 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

extract from an official statement which was made 
in El Diario de Salvador, one of the most powerful 
papers in the Republic, of which I attach the following 
translation : 

" In our edition of yesterday we published the decree of 
the Supreme Executive power declaring the Republic to be in 
a state of siege. According to the terms of this decree, the 
Grovernment has been obhged to take extreme measures, 
owing to the attempt of its enemies to create a revolutionary 
movement calculated to cause a radical change in this Grovern- 
ment. 

"Fortunately for the Administration, the plot was dis- 
covered in time, and repressive measures were at once adopted 
which rendered the movement impossible of consummation. 
But, if it is certain that the internal peace has not been dis- 
turbed, such is not the case with the credit of the country. 
Furthermore, the fact that the attempt was made at the time 
for harvesting coffee aggravated the situation somewhat for 
the moment, and threatened to interfere with the gathering 
of this important crop on which much of the prosperity of the 
country depends ; but the action of the Chief Executive in 
issuing orders to the Grovernors of the several Departments 
has reduced this evil to a minimum. 

" In his instructions to the Grovernors, the Minister of the 
Interior provided in part that, notwithstanding the state of 
siege, the greatest latitade must be given persons and work- 
men who were not actually under suspicion, but insisted on 
the strict guarding of public order. Men in the discharge of 
their duties, however, were allowed to pass toward the Capital 
of the country without the necessity of presenting passports. 
This referred particularly to merchants, managers of planta- 
tions, and day labourers. 

" As will be seen," continued the journal referred to, " the 
circular does not mention the municipal elections which are 
soon to take place throughout the interior, but the President 
of the Republic has authorized us to make known his desires 
that these elections be held with perfect freedom, and be 
unhampered by the decree of the Executive." 




Colonel's Quarters, School of Sergeants. 




Officers' Club Room, School of Sergeants. 



CHARACTER OF SALVADOREAN PEOPLE 71 

The extract which I am quoting continues as follows : 

"Whatever reasons the enemies of the Government may- 
set forth in justification of their conduct^ it cannot be doubted 
that the country has resisted the movement grandly, and has 
caused the failure of another attempt, which adds one more 
to the number which have aided to discredit the country 
abroad, and characterized our land as one of convulsive 
nations, incapable of making reasonable use of their Grovern- 
ments, such as Ave now enjoy. We must not lose sight of the 
fact that the eyes of Europe are upon us, thanks to the impor- 
tant role which Salvador is destined to play in uniting the 
civilizations of the East with the West." 

It cannot be too emphatically pointed out that the 
Salvadoreans are not naturally a rebellious or warlike 
people, and, except when compelled to take up arms in 
their own defence or in favour of a righteous cause, 
they ask nothing better than to be permitted to devote 
themselves to the congenial and profitable occupation 
of cultivating the bounteous land which is theirs by 
inheritance. In the troubles which afilicted the 
country in the years 1907-08, the whole cause was the 
incitement which was offered to them by their 
turbulent and troublesome neighbours the Nicaraguans 
and the Honduraneans. As f- nav e shown very 
conclusively, it was the long-established policy of 
Santos Zelaya to foster an outbreak in Salvador which 
should broaden into a revolution, in the course of 
which Salvadorean troops would be compelled inno- 
cently to commit some overt act which would give 
Honduras or Nicaragua a cause for the initiation of 
a movement against the Kepublic. This, it was hoped, 
would ultimately result in the election to the 
Presidency of Salvador of Dr. Prudencio Alfaro, who 
was always a creature of Santos Zelaya, and who for 



X 



72 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

many months was his guest at Managua, where he 
formed all his plans, for the execution of which Presi- 
dent Zelaya was ready to pay. As we have seen, the 
agitators did not wait for the casus helli on the part 
of Salvador, but most unwarrantably invaded that 
country and committed certain outrages, only, how- 
ever, to have to execute a most humiliating retreat 
before any beneficial results could possibly have accrued 
to them. Had it come to an actual encounter or 
series of encounters between the allied forces of 
Honduras and Nicaragua on the one hand and the 
Salvadoreans on the other, there can be no question 
that the latter would in the long-run have emerged 
victorious; out of a population of 1,100,000, the 
Salvadoreans can claim a fighting force of at least 
100,000. The Salvadoreans are the best and most 
plucky fighters in South or Central America, as has 
been proved upon several occasions, displaying great 
intelligence on the battle-field and in the conduct of 
their campaigns. At the memorable battle of Jutiapa, 
fought between the Salvadorean troops and the Guate- 
malans in the previous year (1906), and in spite of 
the fact that the latter numbered over 40,000 as 
against little more than half that force arrayed on 
the side of Salvador, the former gave an extremely 
good account of themselves, and showed that the 
excellent military training which they had received 
had not been thrown away. 

The invasion of Salvadorean territory in the month 
of June, 1907, by the Nicaraguans was a direct and 
unprovoked violation of the Treaty of Peace and 
Amity of Amapala, only signed on the previous 
April 23, and ratified on May 8, by which the Govern- 
ments of the two countries agreed to submit their 



TREACHERY OF ZELAYA 73 

grievances to the Presidents of the United States and 
Mexico for arbitration. The news was first received 
through the telegram sent by President Figueroa, 
dated June 11, 1907, and addressed to Dr. Manuel 
Delgado, the Salvadorean Minister at Washington. 
In this despatch, General Figueroa says : 

" This morning the revolutionists bombarded and captured 
the port of Acajutla. The forces were commanded by General 
Manuel Rivas, and came from Oorinto in the warship Momo- 
tombo, armed by the President of Nicaragua. It is in this 
manner that President Zelaya complies with the terms of 
the Treaty of Amapala, which was the result of the interven- 
tion of the American Government." 

The gunboat mentioned was one of six warships 
which Nicaragua at that date possessed, and which 
composed the whole of the Nicaraguan "Navy." The 
vessel was capable of transporting 1,000 troops, and 
the facility with which these landed and seized the 
port of Acajutla is explained by the fact that the 
Salvadoreans were entirely unsuspicious and unpre- 
pared for such an outrageous act upon the part of 
the treacherous Zelaya, with whom they had every 
reason to consider themselves at peace. The civilized 
world has denounced the Nicaraguans' act of aggres- 
sion, and unhesitatingly expressed the opinion that 
President Zelaya had committed a grave violation 
of international ethics in opening hostilities against 
Salvador without having made a preliminary declara- 
tion of war or giving any reasons for such an action. 



CHAPTER VI 

Outbreak of hostilities between Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and 
Guatemala — Discreditable conduct of Nicaragua proved — Failure of 
United States and Mexican intervention — Dignified and loyal 
attitude of General Figueroa — Warning to Honduras — President 
Davila used as Zelaya's cat's-paw — The latter's subsequent regret — 
Central American Court of Justice trial of claim for damages, and 
result of judgment. 

The true friends of interstate peace, of whom there 
are as many in Latin America as other parts of the 
world — although, from the frequent turmoils which 
occur in that part of the globe, one might be excused 
for doubting it — were much distressed by the serious 
quarrel which broke out between the neighbouring 
Republics of Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and 
Nicaragua, in the years 1907-08. This was not by any 
means the first conflict which arose between Salvador 
and Honduras, for the two States were at war in 
1871, when General Miranda invaded Honduras with 
the object of proclaiming General Xatruch as President 
in place of General Medina; again in 1872, when 
were fought the famous battles of Sabana Grande and 
Santa Barbara; and in 1873, when Salvador sent 
an armed expedition against President Celio Arias, 
and in order to restore General Ponciano Leiva to the 
Presidency of the neighbouring Republic. Although 
the relations between Nicaragua and its adjoining 
States had long been on a questionable basis owing 
to the ambitious projects of General J. Santos Zelaya, 

74 



INTERSTATE TROUBLES 75 

its President, there was no reason to anticipate any 
disturbance, more especially as at the most critical 
time, owing to the intervention of the United States 
and Mexico, the cloud had blown over, and to all 
appearances peace reigned. 

The worthlessness of the intervention, and the 
absolute ineptitude of the United States to effect 
any permanent improvement in the prevailing con- 
ditions, was, however, proved conclusively a few 
months after the Treaty of Peace and Amity had 
been signed, amid somewhat premature rejoicings at 
Washington, on December 20, 1907. Almost before 
the ink was dry upon the document, Honduranean 
and Nicaraguan troops had violated the terms and 
conditions, and continued, moreover, to do so in spite 
of all diplomatic reminders and serious warnings from 
the United States. In these " warnings," however, 
Mexico took no part, merely using the good offices of 
President Diaz to effect what the threat of the Big 
Stick had failed to accomplish. Eventually peace 
was proclaimed, and since then it has been strictly 
maintained as between the different Republics, 
although not by any means so within their own 
borders, as witness what has recently occurred, and 
is still occurring, in Honduras, and, alas ! within 
Mexican territory, also. It seems a cruel irony that 
Diaz the Dictator should so soon have become the 
Deposed. The fact recalls forcibly the poet Burns's 
well-known words : 

" And may you better reck the' rede, 
Than ever did th' adviser 1" 

The true history of these Republics' quarrels of 
recent times would at this stage be somewhat difficult 
to record, since an immense quantity of official docu- 



76 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

ments would have to be translated and given In full. 
To do this, however interesting, would prove impractic- 
able within the limits of a single volume. The matter 
has been sketched by me from personal knowledge, 
and I trust that I shall escape the charge of prejudice 
or unfairness to any of the parties involved. M 

For the facts set forth abundant evidence can be 1 
procured, and possibly, if my account be compared with 
the many versions which have been from time to time 
adduced by others, who have spoken and written from 
authoritative or personal information, it will not be 
found to vary very much in the main particulars. I 
have patiently listened to the accounts of all that took 
place both on Salvadorean and on Nicaraguan territory, 
and, furthermore, the incidents which both led up to 
and followed the clash of arms were related to me by 
the participants when all feeling of animosity and 
bitterness had disappeared, and the usual friendliness 
between the members of this strangely mercurial 
people had been restored. Thus very little for spirit 
of resentment— although perhaps something for the 
vainglorious spirit of the individuals concerned— need 
be allowed. II est difficile tovjours d'estimer quelqu'un 
comme il veut I'etre. 

Considerable as is the space which I have given up 
in this volume to the relations of the Salvadorean, 
Honduranean, and Nicaraguan troubles, I find it impos- 
sible to publish in its entirety, as I should have liked 
to have done, the text of the complaints presented by 
the Governments of Honduras and Nicaragua against 
that of Salvador, and which were heard before and 
decided by the Central American Court of Justice, 
as well as the final answer and arguments which were 
later on issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of 



SALVADOR AND HONDURAS 77 

Salvador. All these documents, which fill two 
substantial and closely - printed pamphlets, the one 
consisting of 84 pages and the other of 108 pages, are 
extremely interesting and instructive, serving as they 
do to throw a particularly clear light upon the methods 
of some of the Central American States, which imagine 
that they are acting in an " honourable " manner and 
fulfilling a respectable destiny. 

It is significant that these publications, which are 
complete and official, were issued by the Government 
of Salvador, from which it is clear at least that this 
country had nothing to fear from the world at large 
being made acquainted with the history of the troubles. 
No less worthy of comment is it that neither Honduras 
nor Nicaragua has ever made any rejoinder to the 
arguments and conclusions of the Court of Justice 
or of the Salvadorean Government, and in this action, 
perhaps, they have for the first time shown some 
intelligent discretion. 

The impartial reader of these publications can only 
arrive at one conclusion, nor, indeed, is it even neces- 
sary that he should know anything of either the 
countries or their inhabitants to be able to form some 
sensible deduction from the actual position. The 
correspondence, the genuineness of which is un- 
challenged, speaks for itself It seems clear that 
the Government of Salvador, while subscribing in 
Washington the Central American Treaty of Peace, 
swore faithfully to fulfil the International Agreement 
which bound it to its sister Republics, and at the 
same time opened for itself and for them, as it had 
every reason to hope and believe, a new era of 
confraternity to be maintained in dignity and mutual 
advantage. To the principles of that Treaty, Salvador 



78 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

adhered with the utmost rigour ; and, in the face of the 
most intense provocation, refused to depart one inch 
from its solemn obligations. The attitude which this 
small but high -principled State showed at this time 
of trouble and trial has evoked the admiration and 
commendation of all statesmen, independently of 
country, or creed, or political belief 

To particularize more minutely from the abundant 
evidence which exists to this effect, and which may 
be gathered from every page of these two pamphlets, 
is unnecessary in this volume ; but one fact at least 
I may call attention to, as exemplifying the honesty 
of purpose and the good faith of the Salvadorean 
Government towards the Kepublic of Honduras, at a 
time, moreover, when only armed retaliation could 
reasonably have been looked for. 

In all probability the friendliness of President 
Figueroa for his neighbours would never have been 
questioned, nor their relations have been in any way 
embittered, but for the Machiavellian interference of 
Santos Zelaya. It is an eloquent fact of the sympathy 
felt for Honduras, that President Figueroa of Salvador 
wrote personally, and almost affectionately, to President 
Davila, on June 10, 1907, drawing his attention to the 
revolutionary plans of certain Honduranean exiles who 
were making Salvadorean territory their temporary 
headquarters. Only feelings of friendship and good- 
nature could have prompted a neighbourly action 
of this kind, which, however, some few months after- 
wards was rewarded by President Davila allowing 
his troops to join forces with the Nicaraguans in their 
invasion of Salvadorean territory. 

This I may say in defence of ex-President Miguel R. 
Davila, whom I know quite well, and with whom I 




Penitentiary at San Salvador. "^ 




Officers' Club Room, Military Polytechnic School. 



PRESIDENT DAVILA USED AS CAT'S-PAW 79 

have had many long and interesting conversations : 
he is a man of great honesty of purpose, but of 
singularly weak will ; in fact, he has neither initiative 
nor power of moral resistance. Quiet and modest to 
an extraordinary degree, speaking very little above 
a whisper, and with the manners of a curate rather 
than those of a soldier, one is inclined to rather 
wonder que diahlefait-il dans ceite gaUre of President 
of an unruly and half-savage Eepublic. 

In agreeing to join Zelaya upon his mad and 
mendacious enterprise. President Miguel Davila, who 
had only assumed the Presidency in the month of 
April of that year (1907), undoubtedly allowed his 
better judgment and sense of decency to be overruled. 
This do I know, also : he has deeply and sincerely 
repented of his action, not because it failed and he 
lost the game at v^hich he had consented to try his 
hand, but because, being a man, as I have said, of 
innate honesty of purpose, he perceived when too late 
that he had committed what is a v^orse offence than a 
mistake — a crime against personal honour. 

General Fernando Figueroa, however, did something 
more than merely warn President Davila of the plot- 
ting going on against his government and his life, and 
which was proceeding beyond his own jurisdiction. 
He actually prevented the leader of the Honduranean 
revolutionists, General Teofilo Carcamo, from leaving 
Salvadorean territory, keeping him, with many other 
conspirators, in prison, and thus helping to quell an 
uprising against President Davila's government. 

The magnanimity of the Salvadorean Government 
continued to the end. Notwithstanding the finding 
of the Central American Court of Justice, (delivered 
on December 19, 1908), and which, being in favour of 



80 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Salvador upon all points raised, should sequentia have 
carried costs, the Government forewent any such 
claims, which by the terms usually prevailing under 
International Law could have been insisted upon, and 
found its share of the expenses incurred by the inquiry. 
Subsequent to the troubles related in the fore- 
going pages, the Honduranean Government stupidly 
courted fresh disasters by prosecuting a claim for 
damages against the two Republics of Salvador and 
Guatemala for injuries which it declared it had 
sustained as a result of those two sister-States having 
harboured Honduranean agitators and conspirators 
within their borders. The exact value of this claim 
can best be judged by perusing the following questions 
that were considered and determined by the Special 
Court of Justice which was formed in Costa Rica (the 
only State which stood aside and refused to be 
concerned in this Central American squabble), and 
the members of which were made up of five different 
nationalities. Attached is a faithful translation of 
what transpired on this occasion : 

In the Central American Court of Justice at Cartago, Costa Eica. 

THE GOVEENMENT OF THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS 
VERSUS THE GOVEENMENTS OF THE EEPUBLICS OF EL 
SALVADOE AND GUATEMALA. 

Decision : In the City of Cartago, Costa Eica, at Midnight of 
THE 19th of December, 1908. 

Upon the closing of the deliberations of the Court for pronouncing 
judgment in the complaint filed by the Government of the Eepubhc of 
Honduras against the Governments of the Eepubhcs of El Salvador and 
Guatemala, charging responsibiUty that took place in the first-mentioned 
Eepublic in the month of June last, the Chief Justice submitted the 
following queries to be voted upon in rendering the decision that is to 
settle the controversy : 



\ 



CENTRAL AMERICAN COURT OF JUSTICE 81 



First Question. — Should the Court sus- 
itain the exception taken by the repre- 
' sentative of the Government of Guatemala 
as to the inadmissibility of the complaint, 
on grounds that it was filed before all 
negotiations for settlement, between the 
two respective Departments of Foreign 
Affairs, had been resorted to without 
I success ? 



The result of the vote cast 
was as follows : 

First Question. — The five 
justices answered in the nega- 
tive. 



Second Question. — Should the Court 
sustain the exception taken by the same 
party, as to the insufficiency of basis of 
action, considering that no evidence was 
filed together with the complaint ? 

Third Question. — Is it proven, and 
should it thus be held, that the Govern- 
ment of the EepubUc of El Salvador has 
violated Article 17 of the Treaty of Peace 
and Amity, signed at Washington on 
December 20, 1907, by failing to bring 
to the Capital and to submit to trial Hon- 
duranean exiles who endangerfcd the peace 
of their country ? 

Fourth Question. — Is it proven, and 
should it thus be held, that the Govern- 
ment of the Eepubhc of El Salvador has 
violated Article 2 of the additional con- 
vention to said treaty by fostering and 
promoting the revolutionary movement 
referred to ? 



Second I Question. — The 
five justices answered in the 
negative. 



Third Question. — Justices 
GaUegos, Bocanegra, and 
Astua answered Ln the nega- 
tive, and Justices Ucles and 
Madriz in the affirmative. 



Fourth Question. — Jus- 
tices GaUegos, Bocanegra, 
Astua, and Madriz answered 
in the negative, and Justice 
Ucles in the affirmative. 



Fifth Question. — Is it proven, and 
should it be held, that the Government 
of the Eepublic of El Salvador has con- 
tributed to the realization of the said 
political disturbance, through culpable 
negligence ? 

Sixth Question. — In consequence, 
should the Court hold that the action 
instituted against the Government of the 
Eepublic of El Salvador is according to 
law, and, if so, should that Government 
be sentenced to pay the indemnity for 
damages that the complainant prays for ? 



Fifth Question, — Justices 
GaUegos, Bocanegra, and 
Astua answered in the nega- 
tive, and Justices Ucles and 
Madriz in the affirmative. 



Sixth Question. — Justices 
GaUegos, Bocanegra, and 
Astua answered in the nega- 
tive, and Justices Ucles and 
Madriz in the affirmative. 



82 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



Seventh Question. — Is it proven, and 
should it be held, that the Government 
of the Eepublic of Guatemala has violated 
Article 17 of the Treaty of Peace and 
Amity, signed at Washington on Decem- 
ber 20, 1907, by failing to bring to the 
Capital and submit to trial Honduranean 
exiles who endangered the peace of their 
country ? 

Eighth Question. — Is it proven, and 
should it be held, that the Government of 
the EepubUc of Guatemala has violated 
Article 2 of the additional convention to 
the said treaty by fostering and promoting 
the revolutionary movement referred to ? 

Ninth Question. — Is it proven, and 
should it be held, that the Government of 
the Eepubhe of Guatemala has con- 
tributed to the reaUzation of the said 
political disturbance, through culpable 
negligence ? 

Tenth Question. — In consequence, 
should the Court hold that the action 
instituted against the Government of the 
Eepubhc of Guatemala is according to 
law, and, if so, should the Government 
be sentenced to pay the indemnity for 
damages the complainant prays for ? 



Seventh Question. — Jus- 
tices Gallegos, Bocanegra, 
Madriz, and Astua answered 
in the negative, and Justice 
Ucles in the affirmative. 



Eighth Question. — Jus- 
tices Gallegos, Bocanegra, 
MadriZj and Astua answered 
in the negative, and Justice 
Ucles in the affirmative. 



Ninth Question. — Justices 
Gallegos, Bocanegra, Madriz, 
and Astua answered in the 
negative, and Justice Ucles 
in the affirmative. 



Tenth Question. — Justices 
Gallegos, Bocanegra, Madriz, 
and Astua answered in the 
negative, and Justice Ucles 
in the affirmative. 



1 



Eleventh Question. — Should costs be 
awarded against the losing parties ? 



Eleventh Question. — Jus- 
tices Gallegos, Bocanegra, 
Madriz, and Astua answered 
in the negative, and Justice 
Ucles in the sense that costs 
be awarded against the 
Governments of the Eepub- 
lics of El Salvador and 
Guatemala. 
From the above-stated result, judgment is rendered dismissing the 
action instituted against the Governments of the Eepublics of El Salvador 
and Guatemala without costs. 

Jose Astua Aguilak. 
Salvador Gallegos. 
Angel M. Bocanegra. 
Alberto Ucles. 
Jose Madriz. 
Witness: Ernesto Martin, Secretary. 



FINDINGS OF THE COURT 83 

A more impudent or baseless claim than that put 
forward by Honduras, and decided by the Central 
American Court of Justice, can hardly be imagined. 
That the Honduranean Government would ever have 
thought of prosecuting it at all but for the instigation 
from its immediate neighbour seems hardly probable. 

That the Court should have found a decision over- 
whelmingly in favour of Salvador and Guatemala was 
only natural, but it seems unfair that, having come 
to that inevitable conclusion, costs should not have 
followed the event, and that Honduras should not 
have been condemned to pay them. 

There is but one consolation (a poor one, I am 
afraid) open to the Republics of Guatemala and 
Salvador in this connection — namely, that had the 
Court ordered Honduras to pay the costs of the 
inquiry, it would never have done so, any more than 
it has paid back to its foreign creditors either the 
principal of, or, even the interest upon, the money 
which it borrowed. 

Were the creditors American instead of British, 
some satisfactory settlement would have been arrived 
at long ago. Even as it is, the British bondholders 
will be unable to obtain a settlement of any kind 
without recourse to American interference, and, as may 
be well believed, it will be upon such terms as the 
Americans choose to approve of, and subject to such 
profits out of the transactions as the Americans choose 
to demand. 

It is satisfactory at least to observe that Hon- 
duranean impudence did not succeed in the above 
instance in getting "any rise" out of either Salvador 
or Guatemala. 

That the relations existing to-day between the 



84 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

two Republics of Salvador and Honduras are upon 
a more friendly basis, and that they are destined 
to so remain as long as the present Governments of 
the two countries remain in power, is proved from the 
interchange of congratulatory despatches made by 
Dr. Bertrand, President of Honduras, and Dr, Manuel 
Enrique Araujo, President of Salvador, in the month 
of March last, and copies of which I am enabled to 
give in this volume. The correspondence, conducted 
by telegraph, was as follows : 

" Tegucigalpa, 

''March 28, 1911. 

" To H.E. the President, Dr. Manuel E. Araujo, 
San Salvador. 

"I have the honour to bring to the knowledge of Your 
Excellency that I have to-day taken possession of the Presi- 
dency of the Republic before the National Congress. In 
communicating this to you, I take pleasure in anticipating 
the good sentiments that animate me for the cultivation of 
better relations with the Government over which Your 
Excellency so worthily presides, presenting to you at the 
same time my good wishes for the well-being of the Republic 
and for Your Excellency's personal happiness. 
" I am, Your Excellency's sincere 

and devoted servant, 

"F. Beeteand." 

Reply eeom the Peesident oe Salvadoe. 

" San Salvador, 

''Marches, 1911. 

" To H.E. President Dr. Bertrand, Tegucigalpa. 

" I am delighted to receive Your Excellency's important 
message, which conveys to me the flattering news that such 
a distinguished citizen, to whom I am bound by chains of 
fraternal sympathy, has to-day taken possession of the 



HONDURAS AND SALVADOR 85 

elevated office of President of that Republic. Such a happy- 
event is received with immense rejoicing by my Government 
and the general 'public, because it implies for the sister- 
Republic of Honduras peace and progress. I send good 
wishes for the well-being of Your Excellency, to whom I am 
pleased to offer the testimony of mj perfect friendship and 
sympathy. 

"Manuel E. Aeaujo." 



CHAPTER VII 



I 



The army — Division of forces — Active reserve — Auxiliary — Republic's 
fighting strength — Mihtary education — Strict training — Excellent 
discipline— Schools and polytechnics — Manual training — Workshops 
and output — Economies in equipments — Garrison services — Barracks 
— Destruction of Zapote Barracks — New constructions at Capital, 
Santa Ana, Santa Tecla, Sitio del Nino, Ahuachapan, Cojutepeque, 
San Miguel — Annual expenditure. 

The National Army of the Republic of Salvador is 
divided into three main sections, each of which is 
under the orders of a Departmental Commander, the 
only superior to whom is the Minister of War. In 
the Department of San Salvador, which comprises the . 
Capital, the command of the troops is vested in the 
hands of the Minister, and special commissions are 
held in connection with this command. The first of 
these commissions covers the Attached and Reserve 
Forces of the whole Department ; the second relates 
to the Active Forces of the Department quartered 
outside the Capital ; and the third deals with the 
two military zones into which the Military District 
of San Salvador is divided. 

The entire strength of the Salvadorean Army is, 
approximately, as follows : 

Active Force consists of 78 Staff Officers, 512 Officers, 15,554 Troops, 
or, approximately, 26 Battalions. 

Auxiliary'Force consists of 49 Staff Officers, 856 Officers, 11,176 Troops, 
or 18|- Battalions. 

Eeserve Force amounts to 251 Senior Officers, 1,743 Officers, 56,161 
Troops, or 93J Battalions. 

86 




w^^ 



Colonel, Adjutant, and Captains of Company 




Cadet Corps, School of Sergeants. 



THE ARMY 87 

This gives the total strength of the Effective Army 
as— 378 Senior Officers, 2,611 Officers, and 82,881 
Troops, or 138 Battalions, more or less. 

The Government, on the advice of the late President, 
General Figueroa, have devoted the closest care and 
attention to the question of military instruction, and 
the system at present in force is the outcome of the 
intelligent study of similar systems in force in other 
countries, and the adaptation of the best features exist- 
ing in each. A very high esprit de corps exists among 
the Salvadorean troops, and, for the most part, they 
enter upon their schooling and training with both 
zeal and interest. It must be remembered that a 
great proportion of the troops are merely Indians ; 
and it speaks well for them that they should take 
so kindly to a course of what really amounts to mental 
and physical restriction, which, after all, is an experi- 
ence somewhat different to what they and their 
ancestors have been accustomed, except when serving 
as serfs under a brutal Spanish dominion. 

Conspicuous success has attended these courses 
of military instruction, especially in regard to the 
1st Infantry Eegiment, which is quartered at San 
Salvador, and to the 1st Artillery, which is quartered 
at Santa Ana. Here the men punctiliously attend 
the lectures upon military subjects which are delivered 
by the regular officers, as well as by means of ordinary 
instruction classes. In other garrison towns night 
classes are held regularly each evening of the week, 
the instructors in these cases being the officers 
quartered with the garrison, as well as an eminent 
German Professor (Herr Alfred Yischer) who was 
engaged from Germany especially to impart military 
education to the Salvadorean troops. 



88 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

A School for Sergeants and Corporals has also been 
established, with the idea of training these non-com- 
missioned officers for appointments to higher rank in 
the army. This school was some time ago joined to 
the Polytechnic Institute, and placed under the com- 
mand of the Director and Sub-Director of the latter 
institution ; but subsequently, owing to a disastrous 
fire which broke out and destroyed a portion of the 
Zapote Barracks, in which the classes were custom- 
arily held, the two schools had to be separated and 
conducted in separate establishments. 

It is characteristic of the broad-mindedness of the 
Salvadorean Government that among the instructors 
engaged was Colonel Armando Llanos, of the Chilian 
Mission, who for a considerable time had been 
Instructor of the Polytechnic, and later was ap- 
pointed Director and Commandant of that school. In 
addition to the Director and Sub-Director, the School 
for Sergeants and Corporals has a Doctor, a Pay- 
master, two Captain Instructors, eight official Company 
Ensigns, and two Civilian Professors. AU of the 
officers who serve in this corps have to enter through 
the Polytechnic School, and among them have been 
many distinguished cadets. 

For the use of the officers there exists a very agree- 
able Club, at which they can procure their full meals 
and all kinds of light refreshments at moderate prices ; 
while the usual amusements, such as drafts, cards, 
biUiards, etc., are provided for them. So comfortable 
is this Club made that the officers, as a rule, find very 
little inducement to visit the larger towns in search 
of their amusements ; a matter of great importance is 
this to them, in view of the fact that the barracks are, 
as a rule, situated at some distance from the City, and 



MILITARY EDUCATION 89 

railway travelling is, under any circumstances, rather 
expensive. 

In addition, this school has a number of workshops 
attached, where shoemaking, blacksmithing, tailoring, 
beltmaking, etc., are carried on, the output providing 
the principal requirements of the garrison, including 
the supply of uniforms for the officers. 

The staff of officers and cadets of this school, 
together with the troops who occupy the annex, take 
part in periodical reviews and manoeuvres ; and even 
severe military critics have been obliged to admit that 
the smartness and orderliness of the troops are in the 
highest sense of the word praiseworthy. 

The course of instruction which is followed appears, 
indeed, to be very thorough, while the examinations 
through which officers have to pass are in every way 
drastic and thoroughly " stiff." The Polytechnic has 
turned out some very smart officers, the supply being 
fully equal to the demand. 

Of late the Polytechnic School has been provided 
with a first-class physical and chemical laboratory, 
equipped with most modern apparatus. The annual 
expenditure upon this establishment may be put at 
between $65,000 and $70,000, which includes all the 
salaries paid to the Professors and the fees to the 
officers who deliver lectures, the maintenance of the 
cadets and troops, forage for their horses, and all 
general expenses. 

It is the practice at these schools to have field-days, 
when the troops, as well as the cadets undergoing 
instruction, take part. Upon these occasions they go 
through most of the features of an ordinary campaign, 
including embarking and disembarking upon the various 
lakes and inland watercourses, shooting and camp- 



90 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

pitching, bridge-building, and a thorough training in 
the evolutions of field artillery. The various cadets 
who are attached to the Engineers Corps, Telephone 
and Telegraph Sections, and Medical Staff, have to 
go through courses in the duties of these particular 
branches of the army ; and it is, therefore, quite easy 
to understand — when one considers the thoroughness 
of the training in all branches of its service — why the 
Salvadorean Army should stand first among the five 
Central American Bepublics for military efficiency. 
That such training is thoroughly effective and con- 
ducted with the best morale results was proved in 
connection with the earlier unfortunate trouble, when 
many of the officers from the Polytechnic Schools dis- 
tinguished themselves not only by fighting gallantly, 
and in some cases meeting their death with bravery, 
on the field of battle, but also in regard to the skill 
and ability with which they handled their troops, 
both in defence and in attack. 

In regard to the garrison services, the infantry and 
cavalry are almost exclusively employed, the artillery 
being quartered both in the Capital and the City of 
Santa Ana. The officers serve for one year certain, 
and they are thus afforded every opportunity of 
acquiring a sound and finished instruction, and of 
becoming thoroughly disciplined. The 1st Infantry 
Kegiment occupy commodious and suitable quarters, 
and they are generally noticeable for their smartness 
and soldierly appearance, when both on and off duty. 
Santa Ana is garrisoned by the 1st Artillery Regiment ; 
and here, again, the troops are comfortably quartered, 
and the strictest discipline is maintained. The barracks 
are located at the Casa Mata, an old but commodious 
building, which has been remodelled and adapted to 



ECONOMIES IN EQUIPMENTS 91 

present-day requirements. A new story has been 
added, and this is used as offices for the Commanders 
and Majors of the corps, while one side of the building 
has been converted into extensive stabling for twice 
the number of animals that are actually needed. 

In point of cleanliness and comfort the Oasa Mata 
Barracks, as well as those at the Capital, which I was 
invited to inspect, leave little room for improvement ; 
and it is worthy of remark that no epidemic of any 
kind has broken out in these barracks for many years 
past, these having remained perfectly free from con- 
tagion even when smallpox was raging in some other 
parts of the Eepublic. The Military Authorities are 
commendably particular in regard to vaccination and 
re-vaccination, not only when the troops go on active 
service, but at all times. There is a well-maintained 
army dispensary attached to all the barracks, and 
every regiment in the Republic is entitled to free 
supplies of medicine, drugs, and attendance. 

While duly economical in regard to its expenditure, 
and zealous in seeing that nothing is wasted, the 
Government has done everything that is necessary 
to keep the troops adequately equipped both in arms 
and ammunition, uniforms and supplies. The exten- 
sive and efficiently-equipped Government workshops 
are in the charge of a German mechanic, and here 
many of the military criminals, who are confined in 
the Central Prison, are taught useful trades, and their 
services as masons, tailors, and mechanics, are employed 
to good purpose. Some capital work is turned out in 
these workshops, such, for instance, as military equip- 
ments, uniforms, etc. I was informed that during 
the year there had been made there 2,710 complete 
uniforms for the infantry and artillery, 890 for the 



92 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

cavalry, 545 for colour sergeants, 200 for the port 
police, 258 for marines ; 931 soldiers' caps, 537 
cartridge-holders, 2,023 putties, and 2,378 rifle-slings. 
Special orders had been executed in regard to 22,914 
uniforms and 11,311 caps, giving the considerable 
total of 27,447 uniforms of all kinds, besides a large 
number of heterogeneous military uniform fittings. 

During this period there had been delivered to the 
different garrisons of the Republic 27,223 uniforms of 
various kinds; 14,299 caps; 5,840 scabbards with 
their ferrules; 2,550 kitbags; 1,200 blankets; 1,550 
pairs of cotton gloves; 562 cartridge-belts; 1,790 
pairs of canvas putties ; 200 pairs of leather spats ; 
2,040 rifle -slings ; 271 pallets for soldiers ; 354 cloaks; 
600 pairs of gaiters ; 1,350 water-coolers; 450 canvas 
nosebags, etc. Although the not inconsiderable sum 
of $151,723 was expended upon these and other 
equipments, it will be readily recognized that the 
Government must have saved enormously in its ex- 
penditure by employing the services of its own 
workshops. 

It is desirable to say something in regard to the 
character of the buildings which the Government uses 
for military purposes. References have already been 
made to the serious conflagration which destroyed the 
handsomest and most generally used barracks in the 
Republic — viz., the Zapote building. The fire broke 
out on March 27, 1908, the actual cause being a 
mystery, although it was supposed that the disaster 
had its origin in the defective installation of the 
electric light, a badly insulated wire having been 
allowed to get into contact with one of the wooden 
turrets. The building had been almost completed 
when this accident took place ; but fortunately, owing 



MILITARY BARRACKS 93 

to the quick services which were rendered by the 
garrison staff, the police, and some volunteer helpers, 
the total destruction of the barracks was prevented, 
and the greater part of the war material stored therein 
for use was saved. The barracks have now been com- 
pleted, and form one of the handsomest blocks of 
Government buildings in the Capital. 

In Santa Tecla, which is situated but ten miles 
distant from the Capital, a large and handsome block 
of barracks has been constructed, and is also practically 
complete, the work having been in hand since the 
year 1905, but progress being considerably impeded 
from time to time through various causes. It seemed, 
indeed, that these barracks would prove something 
like Cologne Cathedral, and never see completion ; for 
as soon as one part was finished the work was arrested, 
and before any new addition had been made the old 
part had fallen into decay. Neighbouring wars, earth- 
quake shocks, and lack of necessary funds, all played 
their part in occasioning these delays ; but at length 
the building may be pronounced complete. The front 
is constructed in two stories, the three other sides 
being in one story only ; and, while the exterior of 
the building is constituted of handsome cut stone, the 
interior is of a lighter material suitable for tropical 
residence. There have been over 50,000 blocks of 
stone cut and laid for the frontage ; the total cost will 
doubtless prove to be heavy, but the result achieved 
will have been worth it. 

In the town of Sitio del Nino new barracks have 
been built for the garrison, an expenditure which has 
been rendered necessary in view of the advent of the 
railway between Acajutla and Santa Ana, which crosses 
here, and forms an important junction and stopping- 



94 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

place for travellers. The barracks took several months 
to complete, and they now form a very substantial 
addition to the town's notable structures. The prin- 
cipal block of buildings has 27 yards of frontage by 
15 yards of width, including the corridors and other 
buildings. The extent of frontage, which faces the 
railway-station, has a notable elevation, and rests on 
2 metres of stone foundation, one course below the 
ground, and the other above the ground level, which 
is considered to have been the most healthful style 
to have adopted, the residential part of the building 
thus being elevated appreciably above its foundation. 

In Ahuachapan a substantial and handsome building 
for barracks is also being erected, the chief material 
employed being masonry, while the whole structure 
has been planned with a view to defence in case of 
necessity. The building has four turrets, one situated 
at each corner, in addition to two smaller turrets which 
are placed on either side of the principal gateway. 
The thickness of the walls has been decided upon with 
the idea of resisting the attack of artillery of the kind 
usually employed in these countries. The interior of 
the building is constructed of unburnt bricks, the 
arrangement being of the utmost simplicity, the archi- 
tect bearing in mind that the building is destined to 
be used entirely for troops, workmen, etc. 

In Cojutepeque a block of barracks is about to be 
erected, but active construction will be postponed until 
the water-pipes, which are now being laid to convey 
water to the city, have been completed. In San 
Miguel various additional defence works have been 
executed at the existing barracks, while others have 
been commenced, the Government having resolved to 
make San Miguel a strongly fortified town. New 



ANNUAL EXPENDITURE 



95 



military stables have been added to the cavalry- 
barracks at Santa Ana ; while in other Departments 
of the Republic a considerable number of important 
repairs and additions to military buildings have been 
completed. 

From first to last the annual upkeep of the 
Salvadorean Army, including both equipment and 
maintenance, as well as the expenditure upon all 
the military educational establishments, payments for 
the services of the national steamer, contributions to 
volunteer regiments, reserve squadrons, etc., amounts 
to nearly $1,220,000; and taking the whole of this 
expenditure for both War and Marine, the total dis- 
bursement for the year 1908-09 stood as follows : 



Private staff of the President 


73,113.73 


1st Artillery Eegiment 


. 155,155.69 


1st Infantry Regiment 


. 461,596.39 


Cavalry Regiment 


. 125,670.58 


Polytechnic School (including subs.) 


. 106,554.71 


School of Corporals and Sergeants ... 


. 100,887.38 


Volunteers of the Capital ... 


90,602.04 


Reserve Squadron 


52,393.87 


Band of Supreme Power ... 


45,741.59 


National steamer President (from January t 





March 


3,943.84 




11,215,659.92 



CHAPTER VIII 

British Minister to Salvador — Lionel Edward Gresley Garden — British 
Legation hospitality — Mrs. Garden — Government indifference to 
valuable services — British Gonsul — No report for twenty years — 
Foreign Office neglect — Salvadorean Gonsuls and their duties defined 
— Correspondence with the Foreign Office — Imports and Exports — 
British Supremacy in 1904— Germany's position. 

For some reason known to the Foreign Office, but 
understood and appreciated by no one else, Salvador is 
incorporated with Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras 
in its representation by a Minister-Resident and Consul- 
General combined. Other nations in Europe of less 
importance, and the United States of America, are 
represented by separate Ministers and Consuls- General, 
and in some instances by both. The niggardly Foreign 
Office, however, when it has contributed the munificent 
sum of £2,000 for the Minister-Resident's salary, and 
a further £300 as office allowance as well as £200 
for the Consul's office expenses, has done all that it 
thinks necessary to sustain the dignity of Great 
Britain in a foreign country whose people are pecu- 
liarly susceptible to compliments of this kind, and 
leaves Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras 
— separated from one another not alone by hundreds 
of miles in actual distance, but by many days' travel on 
horseback or by steamship — to make the best they can 
of the arrangement. The inconvenience alike to the 
particular Minister, to the British subjects living in 

96 



THE BRITISH MINISTER 97 

these Republics, and to the Governments concerned, 
is considerable, and at times becomes of very serious 
import. 

The British Minister to Salvador is Mr. Lionel 
Edward Gresley Garden, a man of altogether excep- 
tional ability and culture, a born diplomat, and one 
of the most attractive personalities that one could 
meet with. He was born in 1851, and is a son of the 
Rev. Lionel Garden, of Barnane, Go. Tipperary, his 
mother being the beautiful Miss Lucy Lawrence 
Ottley ; and from her Mr. Garden has doubtless 
inherited much of his physical attractiveness. Edu- 
cated at Eton, he was at the age of twenty-six given 
his first Government appointment, namely, that of 
il Yice-Gonsul at Havana, Guba, in 1877. A few years 
afterwards — namely, in 1883 — Mr. Garden was attached 
to Sir S. St. John's Special Mission to Mexico, and two 
years later he was appointed H.B.M.'s Gonsul at 
Mexico Gity. It was then that his valuable services 
as the British Gommissioner at the Mexican Mixed 
Glaims Gourt were rendered, the Gommission sitting 
on and off between 1885 and 1889. While in Mexico 
Mr. Garden upon two occasions took entire charge of 
the Legation, and in 1898 he went back to Guba, this 
time as Gonsul-General, remaining there until 1902. 

Mr. Garden created a profoundly friendly feeling for 
the British during these four years, and he is still 
spoken of with the greatest esteem, not only by 
members of the British community, but by the Gubans 
themselves, with whom he was always 'persona grata. 
In 1902 he was created Minister at Havana, and he 
remained there until 1905, when he took up his present 
post as H.B.M. Minister-Resident and Gonsul-General 
to Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. 

7 



98 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Mr. Garden married Miss Anne Eliza LefFerts, a 
daughter of Mr. John Lefferts, of " Flatbush," New 
York, U.S.A., a gracious and talented lady who, by 
her kindness of heart and refined hospitality, has 
endeared herself to all foreigners resident or travelling 
in Guatemala. The British Legation, one of the 
handsomest residences in Guatemala City, is the 
centre of much friendly and cultured intercourse, not 
only among the British and American colonies, but 
with many of the Guatemalan notabilities and families. 

The only recognition that has been paid by the 
British Government to Mr. Garden so far, in connection 
with his long and valuable services in Latin America, 
has been the bestowal of the Goronation Medal in 1902. 
Beyond relieving him in 1908 of the burden of repre- 
senting the Government in Gosta Bica in addition 
to Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, the King's 
advisers have done nothing to show that they ap- 
preciate Mr. Garden or recognize the onerous and 
responsible mission which he has had to fulfil. And 
yet he is both by education and temperament essen- 
tially one of the most useful and reliable diplomats 
that the Government can call upon. His proper 
sphere would be at one of the European Gourts, or, 
better still, at Washington, where his valuable and 
unique knowledge of Latin- American countries and 
Governments would enable him to more adequately 
and advantageously represent and protect British 
commercial interests than does the present complacent 
Minister, who suggests the idea of being more of an 
American in his sympathies than a Britisher. 

It will be scarcely credible, but it is none the less 
a fact, that the British Government has issued no 
Consular Trade Report upon the Bepublic of Salvador 




Mr. Lionel Edward Gresley Garden, G.M.G. 

H.B.M. iNIinister-Resident at Salvador (as well as at Guatemala, Nicaragua 

AND Honduras.) 



BRITISH CONSULAR REPORT 99 

for nearly twenty years ! This fact is set forth in the 
following correspondence which I attach : 

"PoNDTAiL Lodge, 

"Fleet, North Hants, 
" April 23, 1911. 

" To the Bight Hon. Sir Edward Ghey, Bart., Secretary of 
State for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Office, Downing Street, 
London, W. 

" SiE, — I sliould esteem it a great courtesy if you would let 
me know whether any Consular Report has been published 
by the Foreign Office in connection with the Republic of 
Salvador; what was the date of such report; and whether any 
other report of a later period is likely to be published — and if 
so, when ? I have been making diligent inquiries with 
regard to this matter, but can obtain absolutely no informa- 
tion, a fact which seems more remarkable in view of the 
trade relations which prevail, and have for so many years 
prevailed, between Grreat Britain and the Republic of 
Salvador. 

"My interest in the matter must plead my excuses for 
troubling you, and awaiting your courteous reply, 

" I remain, sir, 

"Yours obediently, 

"Percy F. [Martin." 

"Foreign Oeeice, 

"April 25, 1911. 

" The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Alfairs presents 
his compliments to Mr. P. F. Martin, and, by direction of the 
Secretary of State, acknowledges the receipt of his letter of 
the 23rd inst., which is receiving attention/' 

"Foreign Office, 

"May 8, 1911. 

" Sir, — With reference to your Tetter of the 23rd ultimo, I 
am directed by Secretary Sir E. 'Grrey to transmit to you, 



100 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

herewith, a copy of the Consular Trade Report for Salvador 
for the year 1892, which is the last received. 

"I am, sir, 
" Your most obedient humble servant, 

" (Signed) W. Langlet/' 

"PoNDTAiL Lodge, 

"Fleet, Noeth Hants, 

"May 9, 1911. ^ 

" To the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Foreign 
Office, London, W. 

"Mr. Percy F. Martin presents his compliments to the 
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and begs to 
acknowledge the receipt of a copy of the Consular Report 
concerning trade in Salvador for the year 1892, which he 
notes is the last which has been issued." 

It may be asked why the Foreign Office grants an 
office allowance of £200 to the Consul at San Sal- 
vador if the services of that gentleman do not include 
the supply of at least an occasional report upon the 
trade conditions of that important country ? In view 
of the fact that the share of the Republic's trade with 
Great Britain is still of some moment, even if it has 
shrunk considerably in magnitude from what it formerly 
was, it seems astonishing that not a word concerning 
the conditions prevailing, nor of the opportunities which 
exist for promoting trade in that country, should have 
emanated from a Department of State which presum- 
ably exists to protect the interests of the nation's 
trade and commerce abroad. 

Assuredly, never at any time were the stinging 
sarcasms uttered by Burke, concerning Government 
services of this kind, in 1780, more deserved than 
to-day. In his memorable speech on " Economical 



U.S. AND BRITISH CONSULAR SERVICE 101 

Reform," Burke observed that the Board of Trade was 
"a sort of gently ripening hothouse where members 
received salaries of £1,000 a year in order to mature 
at a proper season a claim for £2,000." If our Consuls 
are expected to do nothing more than sit in their 
offices in order to qualify eventually for a pension, 
the sooner they are abolished altogether the better 
for the country's pocket. 

It is to be observed that certain among the Latin- 
American States have a much clearer idea of the 
proper qualifications for, and the functions of, a Consul 
and a Vice-Consul than our own Foreign Office, which 
has challenged criticism and earned condemnation on 
account of the ridiculous appointments which it has 
made, and continues to make, to such offices. Quite 
recently the Government of Salvador published a very 
important Begulation relative to Consular appoint- 
ments, and this contains so much good sense, and 
offers so many points which might be adopted with 
advantage by our own '' Circumlocution Office," that 
I make no apology for reproducing the gist of it here. 

According to Article I., Clause (b), of this Begulation, 
the Consular career " has for its aim above all to 
promote and increase the commerce of the country, 
and also to insure for it social and political represent- 
ation." Then this official Begulation gives a general 
review of the obligations imposed upon members of the 
Diplomatic and Consular Corps, and adds : " Certainly, 
in order to fulfil these, special knowledge is needed, 
which can only be acquired by patient and careful 
study. Diplomats and Consuls, who go to represent 
Salvador in foreign lands, must especially be present- 
able and must possess individuality. If any unfor- 
tunate circumstance makes them appear ridiculous, 



102 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY ; 

discredit will fall, not only on themselves, but on their 
fellow-countrymen." The Regulation continues : 

" Travellers have been heard to say that they have 
sometimes found the Salvador coat of arms lying in 
a dark, dirty hovel, or in close proximity to a pawn- 
shop ; whilst some diplomatists have been rendered 
conspicuous by their ignorance of the language and 
customs of the country to which they have been sent, 
and, above all, by their absolute lack of patriotism. 
A Professor of International Law has related of an 
Envoy Extraordinary of the Republic of Salvador, 
that he once had to be arrested by the police in the 
centre of the City of Mexico for drunkenness." 

I have heard of at least one British diplomatic 
representative in South America who ought to have 
been arrested for a similar offence, but who escaped 
the indignity by reason of the wholesome respect 
which the Government had for the country which he 
represented, even if it had none for the representative. 

" Consuls and diplomatists," goes on this document, 
" must not only possess special knowledge, but must 
be cultured persons, honourable, tactful, and sym- 
pathetic." In a word, they must possess the difficult 
gift of knowing '* how to please." 

The Regulation does not actually detail these latter 
qualities, but gives it to be understood that they are 
indispensable. It, however, emphasizes the necessity 
of " facility of expression " as an attribute of the 
aspirant to the Consular and Diplomatic Service, at 
the same time, without requiring him to be an orator. 
He must be capable of " getting out of a difficulty 
decently, without making himself ridiculous." 

It would be advisable, the Regulation points out, 
that youths who possess the desired qualifications 



SALVADOREAN CONSULS 103 

should be employed by the Government in subordinate 
positions connected with the Consulates and Legations, 
before they receive higher appointments or become 
Heads. As Secretaries or supernumeraries, they would 
have an opportunity of becoming familiar with the 
language and customs of the people among whom 
they were placed. All the necessary expenses for 
this arrangement should naturally be borne by the 
State. 

" It must also be remembered," this practical Regu- 
lation continues, "that those who fulfil the required 
conditions are losers from the point of view of any 
financial advantages, since for some time their remuner- 
ation will not equal that which might have been 
gained by entering commerce or professional work. 
At the same time, youths who dedicate themselves 
to this career must have sufficient patriotism and 
ambition to figure in the posts of honour. No time 
must be lost in the task of training up Consuls, and 
as the perfection of human work has resulted in the 
evolution of specialists, so the Government must not 
too seriously consider the question of economy, but 
must allow these young men to be sent to other 
countries, and to remain in the same post long enough 
to specialize in their profession." 

According to the new laws afiecting the appoint- 
ment of Consuls, the regulations call for a division into 
two distinct ranks — consuls-general and consuls de 
carriere (irregular) ; and consuls ad honorem (honorary). 
The first-named are appointed to : Hamburg (Ger- 
many), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), San 
Francisco (U.S.A.), Mexico City (Mexico), Paris 
(France), London (Great Britain), Genoa (Italy), 
Guatemala City (Guatemala), Tegucigalpa (Honduras), 



104 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Managua (Nicaragua), San Jose (Costa Rica). The 
annual remuneration is £720 for the Consuls-general, 
and £480 for the Consuls. 

The honorary consuls are at Panama City, Panama ; 
New York City, U.S.A. ; Liverpool, England ; Bor- 
deaux, France ; Berlin, Germany ; and New Orleans, 
U.S.A. 

The first-named officials must be Salvadoreans and 
citizens of the Republic ; while the second may be of 
any nationality. These latter may deduct from the fees 
collected by them such amounts as may be necessary 
to cover office expenses, and the remuneration allowed 
them under Article 186 of the organic law of the 
consular service. 

The Government of Salvador considers that " those 
States which maintain permanent Legations should 
keep themselves regularly informed of all the ante- 
cedents and course of the questions that are to be 
discussed. They should have a perfect knowledge of 
the circumstances that may contribute to a solution 
favourable to their interests ; their diplomatic Ministers 
should have had an opportunity of quietly studying 
the weaknesses of those persons with whom they have 
to negotiate. The State that does not maintain per- 
manent representatives will experience difficulties of 
all kinds in the most insignificant negotiation. If its 
Government conducts affairs by means of a Foreign 
Office, by the post or telegraph, it will be exposed 
to evasive replies and delays, which will be to the 
advantage of the other State ; and if a Special Mission 
is sent, whatever may be the personal capacity of its 
chief, he will be in unknown territory, and will lose 
precious time whilst he is studying men and things 
sufficiently to master the situation, and to be able to 



ANTIQUATED REPORT 



105 



deduce from it the necessary material to bring to a 
successful issue the negotiations entrusted to him." 

These are all very sensible and apt observations, 
which I respectfully bring to the attention of Sir 
Edward Grey, our present Foreign Secretary, and 
the many " Official Barnacles " who surround him and 
advise him in regard to the appointments to the 
Consular Service. 

The last British CoDSular Report from Salvador is 
dated "June 30, 1893," and relates to what took 
place during the previous year, namely, " 1892." It 
is from the pen of Mr. C. S. Campbell, then Consul- 
General, and is addressed to the Foreign Minister of 
that day, the Earl of Rosebery. It is apparent from 
this document, which consists of exactly six pages, 
that Great Britain stood second on the list of Imports, 
and third on the list of Exports, the figures being as 
follows : 



i~i X. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Country. 












1891. 


1892. 


1891. 


1892. 




£ 


■ 
£ 


£ 


£ 


United States 


122,047 


104,587 


247,632 


397,055 


England 


121,523 


121,210 


100,974 


110,043 


Germany 


46,744 


37,018 


212,276 


108,618 


France 


74,444 


58,819 


163,079 


131,586 


Italy 


12,504 


9,514 


92,282 


55,128 


Spain 


3,905 


3,772 


5,297 


3,126 


Sundry 

Total 


60,214 


43,557 


146,544 


136,692 


441,381 378,477 


968,084 


942,248 



It is clear from these figures that British trade with 
Salvador was something considerable and well worth 
maintaining, having at that time approached near that 
of the United States of America, in spite of the great 



106 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



geographical advantage which the latter country- 
possessed — and still, of course, possesses — over Great 
Britain or any other European country. Let us now 
glance at the position of affairs a few years later : 

IMPOETS AND EXPOETS BY COUNTEIES, IN GOLD DOLLAES 

($4.85 = ^1). 

Imports. 



Year. 


Country. 


Amount. 


Percentage. 


1904 


England 
Germany 
United States 
Other countries 


$ 
1,304,576 

404,422 
1,002,437 

898,642 


36-1 
11-2 
27-8 
24-9 


Exports. 


Year. 


Country. 


Amount. 


Percentage. 


1904 


England 
Germany 
United States 
Other countries 


$ 

1;482,319 

958,533 

1,103,030 

3,091,563 


22-4 
14-4 
16-6 
46-6 



It will be observed that Great Britain in 1904 actually 
led in the Bepublic's trade with foreign countries ; but 
nevertheless the Foreign Office deems this fact so 
unimportant that it will not trouble to publish a 
syllable concerning the commerce of that Bepublic, for 
the information of the industrial and trading world. 

The average total of the foreign trade of the 
Kepublic of Salvador may be taken as $10,600,000 
(gold), or, say, £2,120,000, with a balance of $2,250,000 
(gold), or, say, £450,000, in favour of the Eepublic. 
And it is when we come to analyze the imports from 
foreign countries that we recognize how closely Great 
Britain and the United States run together, and how 



TRADE STATISTICS 



107 



greatly we have to fear our keen American rivals as 
competitors. For the year 1909 we see that — 

Great Britain sold to Salvador goods worth ... $1,438,613.90 
United States „ „ „ ... 1,344,315.79 

A trifling balance in favour of Great Britain of $94,298.11 

— or, say, £18,859. Our principal trade was in cotton, 
both manufactured and yarn ; while the United States 
took premier place in flour, hardware, drugs and 
medicines, boots, shoes, machinery, and agricultural 
implements. In these latter goods no country can 
touch the United States for cheapness and general 
novelty ; but it is only fair to add that the goods are 
"made to sell," or, in other words, they are "cheap 
and nasty " — a fact which the purchasers are finding 
out for themselves. Until British manufacturers ex- 
port something considerably cheaper than the imple- 
ments and farm machinery that they supply at present, 
the Americans will continue to hold this market. The 
Germans barely as yet have made much impression 
with their agricultural implements. Although upon 
some of the Jincas which I visited — mostly owned or 
managed by Germans — I came across some ploughs 
and reaping machines from the Fatherland, I was 
frankly informed that they were entirely unsatisfactory, 
and were about to be discarded in favour of some 
United States machines which had been oifered " at 
one-half the price paid for the German inventions." 

STATEMENT OF EXPORT TRADE TO JUNE 30, 1910. 



Country. 


Value of Exports. 


Country. 


Value of Exports. 


Germany 
United States 
France 
Italy 


$ 

1,410,693.10 

1,358,868.85 

1,043,402.71 

584,312.60 


Austria-Hungary 
Great Britain . . . 
Spain 


$ 
388,035.33 
352,843.73 
164,907.21 



108 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



These figures are remarkable for the fact that they 
show inter alia that Germany had in the course of 
twelve months ousted France from first place on the 
export list, and had supplanted her by an extra- 
ordinary amount of advance. To prove this I give 
the official figures for the first half of 1909, and which 
are as follows : 



France took goods value 
Germany ,, 

United States „ 
Italy „ 

Spain ,, 

Great Britain ,, 



1,062,674 
837,040 
636,721 
352,122 
281,961 
111,812 



It would therefore appear that, while Germany 
increased her trade with Salvador from $837,040 in 1909 
(six months) to $1,410,693 in 1909-10 (twelve months), 
France showed a decrease over the same period of from 
$1,062,674 to $1,043,402. Great Britain's position is 
so inferior as to need no comment whatever. 

It will be noticeable that Germany was in 1910 the 
best customer to the Republic, and took fully four 
times as much of her produce as Great Britain. The 
greatest amount was represented by cofiee, as will be 
seen from the subjoined particulars of the class of 
articles which were exported, as well as from the 
values which I add : 



Article. 


Value. 


Article. 


Value. 


Coffee 

Gold, silver, lead ... 
Sugar (brown) 

Indigo 

Balsam and balsam- 
seed 
Cattle and bides ... 
Eubber 


$ 

4,661,440.98 

560,569.64 

222,379.47 

107,936.72 

39,187.97 
36,167.46 
23,491.58 


Tobacco (manufac- 
tured and leaf) . . . 

Lumber 

Eice 

Deerskins 

Hat palms 

Miscellaneous 

Total 


9,638.67 
3,773.07 
3,312.23 
2,837.63 
2,723.21 
23,247.92 


5,696,706.85 




rrj 




TRADE STATISTICS 109 

That the Germans mean to thoroughly exploit the 
Republic of Salvador, moreover, and if they cannot 
secure a holding in one branch of trade they intend 
to try in another, or in a dozen others, is abundantly 
clear. In the month of September, 1909, a Treaty of 
Commerce between the Eepublic and Germany was 
celebrated, and so far the results have been very 
encouraging. Out of 463 steamers and 89 sailing 
vessels which visited the different Salvadorean ports 
last year (1909-10), during the first nine months there 
were 153 German, as against 245 United States, 79 
Salvadorean, 74 Honduranean, and not one British 
bottom. 



CHAPTER IX 

United States information for traiers — Improved Consular services — 
Mr. "W. E. Coldwell — United Siaies and Salvador Grovermnent — 
Bureau of Pan-American Eepnblies — Mr. Mark J. Kelly — Exceptional 
services — The American Minister, Major W. Heimie — Salvadorean 
Minister to "C.S.A., Senor Federieo Me-ia — Central American Peace 
Conference and tiie United States. 

How beneficial is the attitude of the United States 
of America in collecting and disseminating everv 
particle of information which can prove of the sHghtest 
service to American traders ! Month bv month, through 
the medium of the Pan-American Bureau Bulletin, a 
Government-endowed institution journal of the utmost 
utihty, not only to American traders, but to those 
of every country of the world, every item of com- 
mercial, industrial, and financial information culled 
from La tin- American countries is pubhshed in tabular 
form, and suppHed at a merely nominal figure to all 
who care to avail themselves of it. Such information 
is primai'ily the result of the researches and the reports 
made by United States Consuls in the countries men- 
tioned, and it is perfectly certain that none are per- 
mitted to enjoy '' allowances ' of £200 a year, as is our 
Consul at San Salvador, without showing something 
in return for such payment in the shape of a report 
of some kind or other. 

Here I may record that of Mr. Walter Edmund 
ColdweU, our unsalaried Consul at San Salvador, I have 



IGNORING CONSULAR SERVICES 111 

nothing whatever to say but what is complimentary, 
since he is personally a very amiable and courteous 
gentleman, ready and willing at any time to aid any 
Britisher seeking his advice, and which, in view of 
his experience and complete knowledge of Spanish, is 
certainly of great value. I feel certain that, had any 
request come from the Foreign Office addressed to 
Mr. Coldwell for a report upon trade conditions and 
prospects in Salvador, he would have been perfectly 
prepared to supply, as he is undoubtedly capable of 
supplying, it in view of his long residence, extending 
over twelve years. I go further, and suggest that had 
Mr. Coldwell not waited for any such request, but 
had acted upon his own initiative and sent in a report 
to the Foreign Office, such would either have been 
pigeonholed or the Consul have been snubbed for his 
pains. It cannot be too often observed; nor too 
emphatically pointed out, that it is not the officials 
of our Consular Service who are wholly to blame ; it 
is the " System " perpetuated by successive Govern- 
ments — it matters not one pin's head whether they be 
Liberals or Conservatives or a hybrid mixture of many 
political parties — which is all wrong, and the ignorant 
and indifferent Permanent Officials at Downing Street 
who are responsible for the appalling condition of 
incompetency which our Consular Service to-day 
displays. 

The following incident will show with what care 
and attention the Government of the United States 
follow every little incident and occurrence that can in 
any way affect trade relations between themselves and 
the smaller Latin- American States. In the month of 
February, 1909, the United States Minister sent to 
his Government a complaint to the effect that the 



112 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Salvadorean Government allowed favoured - nation 
treatment to certain articles of French origin im- 
ported into the Republic, which treatment was not 
accorded to similar articles from the United States. 
The United States Government at once instructed the 
Minister at San Salvador to ask for an explanation^ 
and he as promptly got it ; not, perhaps, in the precise 
terms which he could have wished, but — he got it ! 
The answer came from the Minister for Foreign Affairs 
in the followino- terms : 



o 



' The Treaty of Peace and Amity, Commerce and Consular 
Eights celebrated between Salvador and the United States 
on December 6, 1870, having become inoperative by reason of 
the denunciation of the same on the part of the Government 
of Salvador, in accordance with the prearranged conditions 
from May 30, 1893, merchandise proceeding from the United 
States can only be accorded such treatment in the Customs 
Houses of Salvador as is provided for in the general tariff law 
of the Repubhc, without special concessions or privileges/^ 

The answer was so convincing and so conclusive 
that the United States Government forthwith pro- 
ceeded to celebrate a fresh Treaty with the Repubhc, 
and has since then enjoyed all the privileges which 
such can procure. 

Upon a previous occasion — namely, in 1907 — the 
United States Yice-Consul in San Salvador having re- 
quested from the Government of the Republic a general 
statement of economic conditions prevailing throughout 
the country, the reply was published very soon after- 
wards in the form of an elaborate and complete account 
of the commercial, industrial, and financial conditions of 
the Republic, the whole taking up the greater portion 
of a special number of the DiaHo Oficial. One cannot 
imagine a British Consul having the enterprise to make 



SALVADOR AND THE UNITED STATES 113 

any such request from a foreign Government to which 
he is accredited, although the information, if sought, 
would be as readily forthcoming as it was for an 
American Vice-Consul. But when we witness the 
sorry spectacle of British officials allowing — or being 
ailowed — twenty years to pass by without having 
issued any kind of report for the information of his 
countrymen, what can be expected ? 

The United States Secretary of State officials, who 
are so ably assisted by the co-operation of the Pan- 
American Bureau and its admirable monthly publi- 
cation, The Bulletin^ deserve every credit for the 
unflagging interest which they manifest in promoting 
and assisting their country's trade abroad. In this 
matter, at least, we might advantageously follow the 
example of our Transatlantic competitors. As it is, 
we should feel deeply grateful to the American Govern- 
ment for periodically issuing information which is as 
accessible to Britishers, or to any other nationalities, 
as to the Americans themselves. And it costs us 
nothing ; which should be gratifying to that large class 
of individuals who enjoy getting something without 
! ! putting their hands into their own pockets. 
j It seems a very remarkable fact that Salvador, like 
a great number of other Latin- American States, has 
been enabled to find in Great Britain a thoroughly 
.capable and influential Consular representative, while 
Great Britain has so signally failed, except in some 
I few instances, in securing similar representatives 
abroad. Nor is this circumstance the less noteworthy 
when it is observed that the Salvadorean Consul- 
! General in London is not a native of that Bepublic, 
but an Irishman, and is probably one of the first — 
if not the only — Irishman who has filled a similar 

8 



114 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

position. Mr. Mark Jamestown Kelly, F.E.G.S., 
F.S.A., etc., has been the Consular representative of 
both the Republics of Salvador and Honduras for over 
fifteen years, and it is only within the past few months 
that he has been compelled, owing to continued 
pressure of work in connection with the chairmanship 
of the Salvador Railway Company, to abandon his 
consular position in regard to Salvador. How greatly 
the Government of that State regretted Mr. Kelly's 
retirement, and how strong was the pressure brought 
to bear to induce him to withdraw his resignation, 
was fully evidenced in a remarkable letter of thanks 
which the Government addressed to Mr. Kelly lately, 
and from which the following is a brief extract. After 
referring in eloquent terms to the deep disappointment 
which the Government felt at Mr. Kelly's inability to 
reconsider the question of resignation, and having 
announced that the Executive had therefore most 
reluctantly accepted the inevitable, and had arranged 
to send over at an early date a representative to 
relieve Mr. Kelly of his official duties, Dr. Manuel E. 
Araujo, the President of the RepubHc (who has long 
been personally acquainted with Mr. Kelly), addressed 
him as follows : 

" I deplore profoundly your resignation of the business of 
the Consulate-G-eneral, which with so much tact and industry 
you have been discharging during so long a lapse of time; 
and your resignation of your post, being based upon reasons 
which I cannot set aside, has this day at last been accepted by 
my Government, but with the hope that you will always con- 
tribute in one way or another with the very valuable contingent 
of your wisdom and experience in all matters relating to the 
good name and honour of Salvador. I tender to you in 
consequence, in my own name and in that of my country, the 
most whole-souled thanks for the very important services 




For 



. Mr. Mark Jamestown Kelly, F.R.G.S. 

YEARS CoNSUL-GeNERAL IN GrEAT BRITAIN FOR SALVADOR (RETIRED JUNE, IQIl), 

AND Chairman of the Salvador Railway Company, Ld. 



I 



MR. M. J. KELLY 115 

which you have afforded to us in the past^ and which we do 
not doubt we shall continue to receive from your well-known 
magnanimity." 

Mr. Kelly has undoubtedly rendered lasting and 
exceptional services to the State of Salvador during 
the long period over v^hich he has represented its 
commercial and financial interests in this country. 
As its Financial Agent in Europe, he carried out the 
long and difficult negotiations v^hich ended in success- 
fully settling and discharging the foreign debt of the 
Bepublic, and permitted of that great undertaking, 
the construction of a through line of railway from the 
port of Acajutla to the Capital of San Salvador, being 
financed and completed. Last year Mr. Kelly also 
negotiated, with much tact and conspicuous ability, 
a new Salvador Foreign Loan, which to-day ranks 
as a gilt-edge security on the London Stock Exchange, 
and stands at a substantial premium. 

Besides his Consular appointments, Mr. Mark J. 
Kelly holds the positions of Chairman of the Salvador 
Railway Company, Limited, and President of the 
Salvador Chamber of Commerce in London ; while he 
is generally regarded as one of the greatest living 
authorities upon the questions of foreign exchange and 
Latin- American commerce. 

For many years Mr. Kelly was identified with railway 
construction in Ecuador and later on with Salvador, and 
his great charm of manner, coupled with his extraordi- 
nary grasp of detail and intimate knowledge of finance 
in all its aspects, have combined to make his co-opera- 
tion in financial and commercial matters a question of 
the greatest value to the latter country mentioned, as 
well as to all who have invested money therein. 
Mr. Kelly is a perfect Spanish scholar ; and when I was 



116 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

travelling with him in Salvador, many of the natives 
•with whom we conversed frankly informed me that, 
but for his distinctive European name, Mr. Kelly 
might very well pass for a pure-bred Spaniard or 
Spanish-American, so admirably did he converse in 
and write their language. Of the newly appointed 
Salvadorean Consul-General, Seiior Don Artiiro Eamon 
Avila, I have spoken in Chapter III. 

Major the Hon. William Heimke, who was appointed 
the Minister of the United States of America to Sal- 
vador in 1909, is a native of France, having been born 
in that country in 1847 and naturalized in the United 
States. He went to America at a very early age, and 
entered the regular army when he was but fifteen. 
He served with distinction during the Civil War, being 
engaged in several important battles. After the war 
he served as headquarters clerk under Generals Sher- 
man, Pope, Hancock, and Sheridan, and he was also 
in the Quartermaster's and Commissary Departments. 
In 1881 he became purchasing agent for the Mexican 
Central Kailroad, and in 1883 was appointed general 
manager of the Chihuahua and Durango Telephone 
Company in Mexico. In 1887 he again entered the 
service of the United States as Vice -Consul at 
Chihuahua. He was advanced to Consul in 1892, 
and retired in 1893. In 1897 he became Second 
Secretary of the United States Legation in Mexico, 
and was promoted First Secretary of their Legation 
in Bogota, Colombia, in 1906. He was appointed 
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to 
Guatemala on March 10, 1908. Major Heimke is a 
member of the American Academy of Economic, Social, 
and Political Science of Philadelphia, and of the Inter- 
national Folk Lore Society of Chicago. 



MAJOR w. heimk:^ IIT 

One of the kindest and most hospitable of men, 
Major Heimke, in conjunction with his charming wife, 
a lady of the greatest culture and artistic tastes, makes 
his home one of the most pleasant places for Americans 
and foreigners alike sojourning in San Salvador. Major 
and Mrs. Heimke have firmly established themselves 
in the regard and the esteem of the Salvadoreans ; 
and they are undoubtedly the most popular diplomatic 
representatives of the United States of America who 
have occupied the Legation. 

The Salvadorean Minister to the United States of 
America is Sefior Federico Mejia, who is one of the 
most prominent men in his country, having for some 
time been Minister of Finance and Public Credit. 
Upon his introduction to his present office on April 6, 
1907, he was officially received by President E-oosevelt, 
and upon this occasion Senor Mejla said : 

" Mr. President : I have the honour to place in your hands 
the autograph letter by which I am accredited as Envoy 
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Govern- 
ment of Salvador, near the Grovernment of Tour Excellency. 
I present to you at the same time the letters of recall of my 
distinguished predecessor. Dr. Don Jose Rosa Pacas. 

" Nothing could be more pleasing to me than the honour 
of conveying to Your Excellency the expression of my 
Government's wish to maintain and draw closer, if that were 
possible, the friendly relations which happily exist between 
our two countries ; and in the discharge of the duties of the 
mission which is entrusted to me, I shall spare no effort to 
voice faithfully the sentiments of the Salvadorean people, 
trusting that I shall meet, in so doing, the same cordiality and 
interest you have manifested in the cause of the welfare of my 
country, and that of the other States of Central America. 

"Accept, Sir, the wishes that I make in the name of the 
President of Salvador, and in my own, for the prosperity and 



118 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

further aggrandizement of the great American nation, and for 
the health and personal welfare of Your Excellency." 

To this friendly and well-expressed address Presi- 
dent Roosevelt replied in equally felicitous terms as 
follows : 

" Mr. Minister : I receive with great pleasure the cordial 
sentiments of friendship to which you give expression, both 
for your Government and for the Salvadorean people. Enter- 
taining the most sincere wishes for the prosperity and happi- 
ness of your countrymen, and having at heart the continuation 
and strengthening of the good relations which have already 
subsisted between our two countries, I assure you of my 
co-operation in your aim to that end. I have no doubt that, 
while worthily representing the Grovernment by which you are 
accredited, you will so conduct your mission as to merit and 
receive the sincere friendship and high regard of that of the 
United States. I am glad, therefore, to greet you as Envoy 
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Salvador to 
the United States. I beg that you mil convey to the 
President of Salvador my cordial appreciation of his message 
of goodwill to me personally, and for the prosperity of the 
United States, and assure him of my earnest reciprocation of 
his wishes. For your own good wishes I thank you ; and 1 
trust you will find your residence with us to be most agreeable. '^ 

On December 20, 1907, the Central American Peace 
Conference, held in Washington, concluded a Con- 
vention providing for meetings of Central American 
Conferences to be convened on January 1 of each year 
for a period of five years, with the object of agreeing 
upon the most efficient and proper means of bringing 
uniformity into the economical and fiscal interests of 
the Central American States. The Peace Conference 
designated Tegucigalpa, Honduras, as the place of the 
first meeting of the Central American Conference, and 
prescribed that the Conference should choose the place 




Side view of "El Rotulo" Brid(;e 




The National Road leadin'o to La Libertad, showing -'El Rotulo' 

Bridge. 



PEACE CONFERENCE 119 

for holding the next Conference, and so on successively 
until the expiration of the Convention concerning future 
Central American Conferences. 

The first Central American Conference, which met in 
Honduras on January 1, 1909, selected San Salvador 
as the place for holding the second Central American 
Conference, which was underlined for January 1, 1910. 
For unavoidable reasons the members of the Conference 
could not meet in San Salvador on the date prescribed, 
and the President of the Republic, acting in conformity 
with Article II. of the aforesaid Convention of the 
Peace Conference, postponed the meeting of the second 
Central American Conference until February 1 of the 
same year, which met on that date and concluded its 
work on the fifth day of the same month. 

The results obtained by the Conference were the 
celebration of six Conventions, all of which were signed 
on February 5 of last year. The first of these Con- 
ventions provides for the establishment in Costa Rica 
of a pedagogic institute for Central America ; the 
second, for the unification of the Consular service abroad 
of the five Republics ; the third provides for monetary 
uniformity on a gold basis ; the fourth, for Central 
American commercial reciprocity ; the fifth, for the 
adoption of the metric system of weights and measures ; 
and the sixth defines the functions of each Government 
toward the Central American bureau in Guatemala. 



CHAPTER X 

Latin-American trade and Britisli diplomacy — Serious handicap inflicted 
by the Government — Sacrificing British interests to American sus- 
ceptibilities — The British Foreign Of&ce's attitude towards its diplo- 
matic representatives — Why British trade has been lost to Salvador 
— Free Trade and its advocates — The Salvadorean view— German 
competition — Methods of bribery in vogue — The Teutonic code of 
trade honour. 

If ever the secret veil which shrouds diplomacy in all 
countries from betrayal could be drawn aside, and some 
wholesome sidelights could now and again be thrown 
upon the proceedings of our responsible Ministers, a 
great many disquieting, and even alarming, things 
would come to light. These would show, for example, 
that the great declension in British trade during the 
past few years has been in a very considerable measure 
due to the astounding character of the British Govern- 
ment's instructions to representatives abroad in regard 
to the attitude of the United States of America. It 
will be news — and very disquieting news — to the 
general public to know that every effort has been 
made by our Government to consult the wishes and 
the feelings of the United States in reference to almost 
every trade treaty which has been either suggested or 
entered into. The failure of our diplomats abroad to 
carry to a successful issue a commercial treaty proposed 
or desired has not infrequently been attributed to the 
neglect, or perhaps to the inability, of the particular 

120 



THE AMERICAN BUGBEAR 121 

Minister employed. In practically every case, how- 
ever, it would be fairer to place the blame for the 
failure upon the shoulders of the Foreign Office. 

I know of several cases in which this is the 
undoubted and undeniable cause of the breakdown of 
our negotiations in the very moment of their imminent 
success. A craven and absurd desire not to "hurt 
the feelings" of our greatest rivals and our most 
clever competitors — the Americans — has dictated a 
policy which has resulted in the earnest efforts of our 
skilled and able diplomatic representatives abroad 
being absolutely wasted, and they themselves being 
placed in a deeply humiliating position, which I need 
not say has been as keenly resented. 

This was the case with a highly important treaty 
which we were upon the point of completing with 
Cuba ; it has been the case with a similar agreement 
entered into tentatively with the E-epublic of Honduras, 
and it has been so likewise with the Republics of 
Guatemala and Salvador. With how many other 
possible excellent trade markets it has also had effect 
I do not know ; but it is not very difficult to imagine. 

So pronounced has this policy become of late, that 
it is now having a decidedly bad effect upon our com- 
mercial and financial relations generally with the 
Latin - American Republics. Formerly these small 
independent States looked upon Great Britain as the 
one Power to whom appeals could be made in all 
matters of dispute, no matter about what or between 
whom, with a moral certainty of a just and impartial 
decision being given. This was in the days when 
Great Britain still preserved her dignity and inde- 
pendence of thought, and before her Government had 
learned to truckle to the bluff of the Roosevelt- 



122 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Philander Kiiox diplomacy. To-day, although there 
is more reason than ever to ask for the calm and 
disinterested advice of Great Britain in the numerous, 
and even dangerous, questions which are continually 
arising between the Latin-American Republics and 
the United States of America, it is recognized by the 
former that it is entirely useless to appeal to Caesar 
any longer, since Csesar has become an advocate for, 
or a creature of, the United States, and, so far from 
acting as judge, merely now pleads as an amateur 
attorney. 

It is necessary to travel in these Latin- American 
countries to thoroughly comprehend the full effect of 
this mistaken and — I do not hesitate to apply the 
term — degrading British policy. The result is that 
the Bepublics themselves deride us, the United States 
laugh at us, and our trade is meantime leaving us. 
The small Bepublics are frightened to enter into any 
private negotiations with our diplomatic representa- 
tives, since they are fearful, in the light of previous 
unfortunate experiences, that their secrets may in due 
course be revealed to Washington as a sop to the 
United States, and that their efforts to strengthen 
their commercial bonds with us will merely serve 
to embitter their own relations with the powerful 
Americans, and without in the least improving their 
position with Great Britain. 

It is almost inconceivable that our Foreign Office 
should ask the opinion, and to all intents and purposes 
solicit the approval, of the United States before com- 
pleting any trade compact with the Latin-American 
Bepublics. What our Government has to fear or to 
hope for from the United States, Heaven only knows ; 
nevertheless it is the sanction of Washington which 



BRITISH DIPLOMACY 123 

is sought for before any treaty can be now concluded 
with any of the Latin- American States ; and, what is 
much more sad to have to add, without such sanction 
no treaty seems possible. That the United States of 
America is, or ever has been, foolish enough to consult 
our Government under similar circumstances is not 
upon record. 

Our Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 
to the United States of America, the E-ight Hon. 
James Bryce, is credited, by those who are privileged 
to know him, with the decidedly Utopian idea of asso- 
ciating the trade aspirations of both America and 
England in Latin- America. It is doubtful if there 
exists another equally eminent individual in the 
world who entertains any such wild and impossible 
notion. It would be as easy to associate fire and 
water as to form a bond, or even an understanding, 
between the traders of America and England, since 
they are, and always must be, keen rivals in the 
markets of the world. Mr. Bryce thinks, perhaps, 
that it is feasible to divide up the universe into com- 
mercial and financial zones, which shall be, thereafter, 
apportioned among the United States and Great 
Britain for their lasting benefit ? He must be a very 
innocent and a very unimaginative individual if this 
be his conception of the methods of latter-day trade 
competition. Mr, Bryce has perhaps cherished the idea 
that our common language should form a bond of 
union, and that this should become the central pivot 
upon which our relations with the United States 
should revolve ? He is even credited with the aspira- 
tion that a Customs Union might be formed on the 
basis of reciprocal Free Trade, with mutual advantage 
to all. The commercial jealousy between the two 



124 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

nations has upon more than one occasion been demon- 
strated, as witness the disputes some years ago, and 
the Venezuelan boundary embrogho, which nearly 
precipitated a conflict between the two countries. 

But whatever be Mr. Bryce's precise ideas, the fact 
remains that he has viewed with but little favour any 
treaty of trade and commerce which our diplomatic 
representatives abroad may have suggested where the 
interests of the United States of America were likely 
to suffer. The Foreign Office, holding this distin- 
guished diplomat — as indeed they may justly do — in 
high esteem, have consulted him upon most matters 
of trade, commerce, and finance affecting the smaller 
Latin-American Bepublics. The Foreign Office, on 
the other hand, have deemed it expedient to refer 
matters to Washington, with the result that not only 
have our private negotiations with these small inde- 
pendent States become the common knowledge of our 
American trade rivals, but those representatives who 
negotiated the treaties have been rendered ridiculous 
and contemptible, while our manufacturers at home 
have been deprived of the benefits attaching to the 
most favoured nation's agreements, such as the United 
States has itself acquired in other directions, without 
having previously consulted Downing Street or, indeed, 
caring one rap whether it was agreeable or not. To 
the Foreign Office, therefore, the commercial and 
trading communities of Great Britain owe a deep 
debt of gratitude ! 

For Mr. James Bryce as an individual it is impossible 
to feel anything but esteem and regard, since he ranks 
as one of the most distinguished and illustrious scholars 
of the day. The author of such monumental works as 
" The Holy Roman Empire," " The American Common- 



MR. BRYCE 125 

wealth," "Studies in History and Jurisprudence," and 
'' Studies in Contemporary Biography," must always 
rank as a man of great ability and intellect. But, 
unfortunately, Mr. Bryce has graduated in a school 
of diplomacy which has clouded his horizon and 
diminished his chances of attaining any independent 
and untrammelled view of Britain's commercial needs 
and the Empire's industrial obstructions abroad. As 
Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs in 1886, and as 
President of the Board of Trade in 1894, Mr. Bryce 
was encumbered with all the machinery of permanent 
officialdom, and was unable to see anything of this 
country's foreign trade matters except through the 
narrow and often perverted views of his subordinates. 

I am very much afraid that this has interfered with 
some of his subsequent policy ; but of later years he 
has put himself to the trouble — let us hope that it 
was also a pleasure — of seeing something of Latin- 
America, and how British trade has to fight its way 
there, an experience which might have been of great 
benefit to Mr. Bryce, and of incalculable advantage 
to British trade in Latin- America, if it had taken 
place, say, some five or six years previously. 

As a writer upon academical and historical subjects 
probably Mr. Bryce has few equals, and still fewer 
superiors ; but when discussing British interests and 
making treaties for promoting British trade in com- 
petition with American manufacturers, a child might 
do better for our side than Mr. Bryce could have, 
or at least has, done. It is easy to understand why 
he should be so extremely popular with our friends 
the North Americans, and why his presence as our 
Ambassador should prove so welcome and so gratifying 
to the acute authorities at Washington. A malleable 



126 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

diplomat who sees so closely eye to eye with them in 
arranging or defeating commercial treaties which could 
in any way be regarded as likely to injure or to delay 
United States interests, is naturally a most desirable 
acquisition ; Mr. Bryce has satisfactorily answered to 
these requirements, and, indeed, must have frequently 
astounded his American friends by his complacency 
and conciliatory attitude when discussing British 
interests. 

In Mr. Philander Knox, Mr. James Bryce has had 
one of the very cleverest, and I may add, least 
impressible, of American statesmen to deal with, and 
it will remain to be seen in the future how much 
Mr. Knox got out of Mr. Bryce, and how much or how 
little Mr. Bryce squeezed out of Mr. Knox. " He who 
sups with the devil needs a long spoon," and it will be 
interesting to learn, as we shall do no doubt ere long 
in connection with the Anglo-American Arbitration 
Treaty, the exact length of Mr. Bryce's "little concave 
vessel," as the Dictionary describes it. 

Mr. Bryce, who is a profound Latin scholar, will 
not have failed to have noted Cicero's observations in 
his " De Officiis ": " Sed tamen difficile dictu est, 
quantopere conciliat animos hominum comitas affabili- 
tasque sermonis "; or, let us put it : " It is difficult to 
tell how much men's minds are conciliated by a kind 
manner and a gentle speech," and in both such 
attributes the courteous and amiable Secretary of 
State at Washington excels. 

In March of 1908 the representatives of the Govern- 
ments of Salvador and the United States signed, at 
the capital of the first-named Bepublic, a convention 
determining the status of the citizens of either country 
who renew their residence in the country of their 



MR. E. G. SQUIER 127 

origin. This convention is found of great utility to 
the United States citizens, more so even than to those 
of Salvador. There is no such convention in force 
between this Republic and Great Britain. 

In the previous year (1907) the Government of 
Salvador determined to establish a permanent Lega- 
tion at Washington, " so that the friendly relations 
now existing between the two Governments may be 
continued on a more intimate basis, and in order that 
the good counsel of the United States may be more 
readily sought and obtained." 

As far back as 1850 the American Minister of the 
day, Mr. E. G. Squier — who, by-the-by, was a former 
husband of the well - known American newspaper- 
owner, Mrs. Frank Leslie — negotiated a treaty with 
Don Agustin Morales, Plenipotentiary of Salvador, 
which subsequently received the requisite ratification 
on both sides, has since been renewed, and is in full 
force and eifect. It secured to the citizens of the 
United States all the rights, privileges, and immu- 
nities of the citizens of Salvador in commerce, naviga- 
tion, mining, and in respect of holding and transferring 
property in that State. It guaranteed to the American 
citizens resident in the country full protection and 
enjoyment of religious freedom, and, in short, every 
other right and privilege which has been conceded in 
any treaty negotiated between the United States and 
any other nation in the world. 

Owing to the extraordinary energy and unmistak- 
able ability displayed by Mr, Charles H, Sherrill, the 
late popular and able United States Minister at Buenos 
Aires, contract after contract which should — or at 
least might — have gone to British manufacturers, have 
been secured for America. I need only mention two 



128 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY ^ 

instances : one for the building of the three Dread- 
noughts which are now being constructed in United 
States yards ; and the other an order for fifty locomo- 
tives for the Government railways, which might — and, 
again, probably would — have gone to British shops. 
While the United States Minister did his level best 
for his countrymen, and for which he deserves every 
credit and congratulation, and while his efforts on their 
behalf were smiled upon with approval by the American 
Secretary of State, the British Minister, locked up 
behind his customary reserve and official dignity, 
neither could nor would move a finger to help British 
manufacturers in their struggle against this serious 
competition. 

It seems, indeed, strange that where American, 
German, French, Italian, and Belgian diplomats con- 
sider it by no means beneath their dignity, or as at 
all outside their sphere, to personally influence trade 
orders for their countrymen, the usual type of British 
diplomat raises his hands in horror at the mere sug- 
gestion of a Legation condescending to recognize the 
existence of trade, repelling with frigid dignity any 
suggestion that the representative of the British 
Government should concern himself with anything of 
a purely commercial or industrial nature. 

That the United States diplomats do not stand 
alone in their gallant efforts to support American trade 
and commerce, and that they are not singular in the 
supposition that the whole duties of an Ambassador 
or Minister are confined to Government functions and 
meaningless ceremonies, is proved by the energy which 
is displayed by some German diplomats, who are very 
often instrumental in checking the energy and frustrat- 
ing the success of their American competitors. It 



DIPLOMACY AND TRADE 1^9 

was only in the month of March last that Mr. 
H. T. Schwerin, of the Pacific Mail Steamship Com- 
pany, in testifying before the Senate Committee on 
Interoceanic Canals, then sitting at Washington, 
declared that his own company had lost 60 per cent, of 
its carrying business to German lines largely through 
the activity of the German Minister to Mexico, who 
had successfully exercised his diplomatic influence in 
extending- German commerce in Central America. 
Distressing as this must have been to our good 
American friends, I do not think that the information 
will be received with feelings of much regret by 
British readers, especially as it will appear to them in 
the light of " poetic justice," since British commercial 
and industrial circles in the Argentine Bepublic, as 
elsewhere, have suffered in exactly the same manner 
at the hands of the Americans. 

The trade of Central America, as has been shown, 
is very largely in the hands of the Germans, for, not 
content with the representation of their own industries 
and manufactures, a great proportion of our own 
" British " Vice-Consuls are Germans by birth, if not 
by choice. Thus, in both Guatemala and Honduras 
our trade interests are to-day partially represented 
by Teutons. It can scarcely be on account of there 
being no genuine Britishers available, since I have 
encountered several Englishmen who could, and doubt- 
less would, act as Yice-Consuls, or merely as Consular 
Agents, if necessary. 

Undoubtedly the Germans rank among the most 
capable of the foreign traders doing business in these 
countries, as they put themselves to the greatest 
amount of trouble to study the people and the local 

9 



130 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

conditions— much more so than either the British or 
the Americans. 

The German is not only among the earliest of risers 
in the morning and the latest to seek his rest at night, 
his store being always the first to open and the last to 
close, but he avoids politics, and discreetly retires into 
obscurity at the first intimation of internal trouble. 
He studiously, if not willingly, falls into the ideas 
and complies readily with the wishes of the country, 
no matter what forms they may assume ; and he is 
hardly ever known to complain to or about anyone. 
He knows full well that it would be useless to do so to 
his home Government, which, like our own, seldom 
concerns itself with the personal affairs of its subjects 
abroad, this being one of the reasons why the Germans 
so cordially hate their own people, and especially the 
official classes. With them it is indeed an absorbing 
hatred, and they do not hesitate to confess to it. 

No other foreigner earning his living abroad seems 
to possess the same gift for small economies as the 
German, nor his ability for steering a clear path among 
the numerous spies and agents who abound in some of 
the politically-ridden countries. The Germans, both 
in their trade and their social relations with the natives, 
are "all things to all men." They are apparently 
thoroughly at home among them. One hardly ever 
hears of a German becoming involved in pohtical trouble 
or failing in his business. He thrives as no other 
foreigner in these lands of difficulties and intrigues. 
It is clear, however, why and how he manages to do 
so. And for him there is no such thing as a Monroe 
Doctrine, which was once denounced by Bismarck as a 
"piece of international impertinence." As often as 
not he marries a native, and loses his identity. 




■'.NTRAXCE TO AVEXIDA La CeIBA AT Sa.\ SALVADOR. 



- ••■"-rv,»5%--,c*-.. '■ 





The famous Avenida under construction. 



THE UBIQUITOUS GERMAN 131 

As an instance of the German's enterprise may be 
cited the supply of cloths and hats for the natives 
which are found exclusively in Bolivia, the same 
individual trading in Peru, however, bringing out quite 
a different class of stuffs and styles for that country. 
The ordinary British or American manufacturer would 
probably contend that it would be useless or unprofit- 
able to make special materials or designs of this kind 
so entirely unlike anything before attempted, and he 
would leave the matter just there. Not so with the 
observant travelling German. He first studies the 
question of demand, then he sends a complete range 
of patterns and samples from the looms of the native 
manufacturers to his house in Germany. In a few 
months' time there arrive in the country the German 
imitation, and, first in small, then in ever-increasing 
quantities, is built up a connection ; and where the 
Salvadorean, Guatemalan, Bolivian, or Peruvian im- 
porter finds his materials and his hats, he buys most 
of his other miscellaneous European goods, so as to 
have but one account and one customer. 

Then, in regard to credits, the German is most 
accommodating, granting payments over twelve, 
eighteen, and even twenty-four months, and never 
asking any interest upon his outstanding accounts. 
How he does it is a mystery, more especially as his 
prices in no way exceed, and in the majority of 
mstances are below, the prices of other European and 
American houses, while the number of his bad debts 
is considerable. Probably there is a seamy side to all 
this promiscuous trading by the German houses ; but 
if there is, there must hkewise be some decided 
advantages accruing, since no one would credit 
Teutonic manufacturers and dealers with motives of 



132 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

philanthropy. But whether their commercial dealings 
with the Latin -American races be profitable or profit- 
less, it is beyond question that they are extending, 
and extending rapidly — all of which means that there 
is so much smaller a field for other countries. These 
specimens of Bolivian hats, Peruvian dress-cloths, 
Mexican rehosos, and Guatemalan mantillas, made in 
Germany, resemble in every way the native manu- 
factures — so closely, indeed, that they cannot be told 
from the original except by an expert. The Germans 
are actually making all these articles, exporting them 
to these countries, and selling them there more cheaply 
than the native article. The question is, ^^ How can 
they do it ?" 

It is decidedly useful to come abroad to such 
countries as the Latin- American States, if only to 
glean a few opinions as to the position which Great 
Britain occupies in the minds of the people of these 
regions. There are many individuals whose judg- 
ments are well worth recording, since while they may 
have gathered their ideas from trading only — and, 
indeed, few of them have been outside the borders of 
their own State — are sufficiently shrewd in their 
criticisms to make these latter worth observing. 

The good people of Salvador, like a great many 
other experienced individuals, both in Latin- America 
and elsewhere, know the advantages to be derived 
from a system of Protection, and they are at a com- 
plete loss to understand how it is that Great Britain 
alone among the trading nations of the world can 
"afford" — that is the expression used — to admit a 
policy of Free Trade, and especially in view of the 
Empire's Colonies' well-known feelings on the subject. 
Here, as elsewhere, the advantages of Free Trade are 



FREE TRADE AND RECIPROCITY 133 

admitted ; but without some form of retaliation it is 
absurd to suppose that any other nations will ever 
accept it. The opinion in general in these countries, 
where local manufactures are gradually commencing 
to make themselves a potent object of attention, is that 
Free Trade is desirable for all raw materials, but that 
a duty should be imposed upon all manufactured 
articles, whether they compete with local productions 
or no. 

These Latin- American critics can but observe how 
the export trade of other foreign countries, such as 
Germany, the United States, and France, is con- 
tinually increasing, while that of Great Britain, where 
it does not exhibit positive signs of decay, remains in 
a stagnant condition. This state of things is attri- 
buted to Great Britain's adherence to Free Trade, and 
the system of Protection adopted by its competitors. 
I have not encountered a single individual with whom 
I have discussed such matters as these who does not 
hold the opinion that, without reciprocity, real Free 
Trade is an impossibility. These intelligent people 
are just as convinced that, were Great Britain to tax 
those countries which protect their industries against 
it, they could before long be forced to adopt Free 
Trade also ; and if they did not do so, Great Britain 
could and should continue to tax them until they did. 
They can see quite clearly that the interests of the 
producer and consumer are so closely interwoven and 
connected that any injury to the trade of the former 
at once reacts on to the latter ; in slack times, as 
these Latin- American races have good reason to know, 
it is really the consumer who is most seriously affected, 
since his very existence depends upon the producer 
and manufacturer. Thus any action, they very sen- 



134 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

sibly argue, which serves to revive or to promote 
trade must, of a necessity, increase the prosperity of 
all. It is strange, indeed, that such a view should be 
so clear to individuals living out here, and remain 
absolutely obscure to those thousands of individuals 
at home. 

Our great strength in these Latin- American countries 
has always been our textile manufactures, and it is 
here that we are beinof attacked by both the United 
States and Germany. The former have successfully 
imitated most of the English designs, and these, com- 
bined with the better class of printing, the larger 
proportion of cotton, and the superior quahty of the 
water employed in the dyeing of the material, have 
combined to make the American textiles more to the 
likinof of the native buyers. So much is this the case, 
that the importers who formerly took British goods 
almost exclusively now send home American patterns 
and designs to be produced in England, even the United 
States trade-marks and lettering upon the piece-goods 
being followed as closely as it is possible to do without 
risking an action for infringement. The labels, instead 
of being printed, as heretofore, are now hthographed, 
and are likewise colourable imitations of the American 
ones ; and it is sad to have to relate that, in order to 
keep together some semblance of British trade, it is 
apparently necessary to pass ofF the products of our 
looms as '"' American." 

So far there has been but little attack made upon 
British bleached cotton goods, the proportion of which 
is 80 per cent, in favour of our country ; but German 
importers, of whom there are an ever-increasing number 
in Salvador, are now seeking to increase the supply of 
these goods from the Fatherland. The United States, 



TEXTILE MANUFACTURES 135 

as yet, have done little in this direction. In yarns we 
seem steadily to be losing ground, mainly, as I under- 
stand, on account of our poor colouring. The people 
of these sunny lands insist upon the brightest of bright 
hues — the most vivid scarlet or vermilion for Turkey- 
red yarns ; the deepest of blues ; the prettiest of 
greens. The British products are lacking in these, so 
much so that many of the Turkey-reds spun in Scot- 
land are sent to Germany to be dyed before they are 
exported to these countries as " British " yarns. Our 
next great competitor in regard to textiles is France. 

British trade has been no more fortunate in regard 
to its machinery, hardware, or iron and steel trade 
connections with Salvador, and here it is the United 
States that is met with as a powerful and resourceful 
rival at all times. The great combine which was 
formed in the United States in 1909 to supply the 
wants of Latin- America with all iron and steel produc- 
tions, has met with an immense success, so much so 
that even its organizers have expressed astonishment. 
The geographical advantages possessed are not the 
only ones. The United States Steel Produce Export 
Company is enabled to handle orders more promptly 
and much more cheaply than any European factory 
could do, but with these commanding points in its favour 
the Company is not satisfied. It has organized a 
system of canvassing either directly by personal appli- 
cation or by mail, which is both timely and effective. 
Immediately it is known, or even suspected, that any 
new railway or other construction is about to be 
entered upon, the Company despatches an agent to 
see the promoters, or, in the absence of this, forwards 
by mail a complete library of handbooks, cost esti- 
mates, attractive illustrations, drawings and code-lists. 



136 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

even prepaying a cable message when business is likely 
to result. The terms offered are often such as no 
European could or would tender, and, even if it were a 
question of direct competition, the Steel Company 
would probably win-out ; but the prices which it 
quotes and the conditions which it imposes are of so 
tempting a nature that they stand alone. 

It is to be remembered that practically the whole of 
the transportation arrangements in Central America, 
Salvador excepted, are in the hands of Americans, 
whose carefully arranged Pan-American Railway 
System is now fast approaching practical realization. 
When completed, it will be possible to journey from 
New York to Panama without change of car, and what 
this means for quick and cheap freights can be realized. 
In all probability there will be severe shipping com- 
petition to meet with, however, more especially on the 
part of the Tehuantepec Railroad, which is already 
carrying an enormous traffic, and is regarded with 
envious eyes by the Panama Railroad Company. With 
the exception of the Tehuantepec route and the 
Salvador Railway, the Americans now control the 
transportation arrangements of Central America, being 
thus enabled to regulate the freight charges upon all 
merchandise entering these countries. Abeady several 
cases of unfair discrimination have been recorded, such, 
for instance, as charging a British commercial traveller 
in Costa Rica a sum of $75 (£15) for the conveyance 
of his samples between the Port of Limon and the 
capital of San Jose, while an American drummer was 
actually granted a rebate of 50 per cent, off the ordinary 
rates, his expenses amounting to little more than $20 
(£4) all told. In both cases the weight of the samples 
was the same. 



CHAPTER XI 

British trade declines — Suggested remedy — Distributing centres — Trading 
companies and branches — Unattractive cheap goods — Former hold 
upon Salvadorean markets — Comparative statistics between Great 
Britain, Germany, and the United States — "Woollen and cotton goods 
— Absence of British bottoms from Salvadorean ports — Markets open 
to British manufacturers — Agricultural implements. 

While everyone who has studied the question of 
British trade abroad is practically agreed that it is at 
present suffering from more than the average number 
of disadvantages, few have any real remedy to suggest 
that might possibly put a different face upon matters. 
One idea which has been suggested to me, however, 
is worthy of careful attention. This is to establish 
throughout the Central and South American States 
a number of retail British houses which shall act as 
agents and distributing centres for our home-made 
goods. I acknowledge that the notion is not a new 
one, since the enterprising Germans, who are, as I 
i have shown, our keenest competitors in this part of 
the world, have long conducted such retail establish- 
ments, and have found them most beneficial in the 
extension of their business with the Latin-American 
countries. To open up new branches without the aid 
of some such method, it may be said at once, is almost, 
if not wholly, impossible. I admit that there are diffi- 
culties which will have to be encountered, as there are 
in all enterprises of this nature ; but that these are not 

137 



138 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

insuperable the Germans have themselves very clearly 
demonstrated. 

In the first place, the establishment of these retail 
establishments, if undertaken at all, would have to be 
upon a large and a very comprehensive scale. For 
this reason it is possible that few British manufac- 
turers would have the pluck to enter upon the project. 
The result of such timidity is that, in the minor 
branches of trade in the Latin-American Republics, 
the volume of which is continually increasing in im- 
portance side by side with the increase in the demand 
for the small luxuries and the conveniences of life, the 
representation of British manufactures is becoming an 
insignificant factor. 

The remedy — or at least a partial one — for this, as 
already indicated, lies in the formation of large trading 
companies, which would combine a retail and whole- 
sale business in all branches of imported goods, with 
the purchase of local produce for export. Apart from 
the advantages which such a company would enjoy, 
due to the magnitude of its operations over ordinary 
importers, its retail department would aiford a prac- 
tical means of advertising and placing upon sale all 
kinds of novelties, which naturally would serve to 
continually widen the scope of its operations. It 
would likewise be in a position, better than that of 
any private firm, to receive goods for sale upon com- 
mission ; and by exporting produce it would be able 
to effect considerable economies in its remittances 
(especially in such countries as Salvador and Guate- 
mala, where the exchange is often altering), while at 
the same time it could afford to pay better prices 
than its competitors. The question is already really 
answered by the success of the co-operative stores 



RETAIL STORES 139 

established in England, and it is upon some such 
basis as this that the scheme for the Latin- American 
Republics is laid. It must be remembered that in all 
of these countries the difference between the whole- 
sale and the retail prices is enormous, and that the 
dealers' profits are exceedingly high. It is an idea 
which Mr. Lionel Garden, who is, perhaps, one of our 
greatest Pro -Consuls, and particularly gifted with 
common sense, has frequently urged in his reports to 
the Home Government, and perhaps for this very 
reason it has never been adopted. It is one which I 
cordially commend to the careful consideration of my 
readers. 

Yet another point to which the attention of British 
manufacturers may be drawn is the unattractive 
manner in which the cheaper classes of goods are 
turned out. I have in previous publications shown 
how trade with the Latin- American countries is injured 
by the extremely commonplace and often ugly cover- 
ings and wrappings used upon boxes or bindings. 
The question is, " Why should an article, because it is 
perhaps cheap, be made particularly ugly ?" The long- 
established custom among our manufacturers of using 
the commonest and crudest of coverings is matched 
by their fondness for finishing off their cheaper articles 
in the dullest and least attractive of colours or casings. 
This is in striking contrast to both American and 
German manufacturers, whose artistic taste is shown 
in the manner in which their goods — often mere 
rubbish though they be — are packed, and with very 
excellent results, so far as the export trade is con- 
cerned. In an age like ours, when lithography of 
every description is so cheap and taste in design so 
improved, it seems wholly absurd that good orders 



140 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

should be continually lost on account of their non- 
adoption. 

I have heard of another idea which I may pass on to 
manufacturers of small articles enjoying a large sale in 
these countries, and this is to procure, through any- 
one living in the country, photographs of the rulers 
— the Presidents and Vice-Presidents — and use them 
lavishly upon their labels and box-covers whenever 
possible. The people are extremely fond of collecting 
these cheap oleographs and pasting them upon their 
walls and windows ; and in all parts of South and 
Central America may be seen thousands of the pictures 
of King Edward and Queen Alexandra, of the Kaiser, 
and even of famous actresses. How much more readily 
would the features of a familiar ruler or a popular 
Minister help the sale of a cheap material or a low- 
priced article of any kind ? The desire to secure 
something for nothing — or as an extra " thrown in " — 
is as predominant in Latin-America as elsewhere in 
the world, and must be pandered to. 

Salvador is one of the many Latin- American States 
whose great richness and prosperity repose in their 
immediate future. In area it is one of the smallest of 
the Central American Republics, but it is in no whit 
less important from a prospective development point 
of view. Its superficial area is but 7,225 miles, but 
its population is considerably over 1,000,000, which 
gives it an average to the square mile much in excess 
of either Guatemala, Costa Rica, or Nicaragua. It is, 
moreover, an easier country to deal with, physically 
considered, since it is in fully three parts of its area 
quite amenable to cultivation. It is remarkably well- 
watered, it is richly endowed with mineral deposits, 
and its people are a quiet, peaceful, and industrious 



THE VANISHING BRITON 141 

race, well-disposed towards foreigners, and with as 
much distaste nowadays for revolutions and inter- 
necine disturbances as their immediate neighbours 
would appear to display for similar diversions. 

In a word, Salvador seems to offer at the present 
time an excellent field for the investment of both 
capital and enterprise. It is quite clear that the 
favourable position existing is also appreciated, since 
the country is, and has for some time past been, full 
of the " commercial ambassadors " — in other words, of 
commercial travellers — representing the manufacturing 
trade of the United States and of many European 
houses, mainly German. 

While several British firms still maintain their con- 
nection with the Republic, there are to be found barely 
half a dozen British houses throughout the length and 
breadth of the country. This is all the more sur- 
prising since the names — and nothing but the names — 
of many one-time influential British firms are to be 
seen on the door-posts and signs of the shops. The 
old-established emporiums in San Salvador, in Son- 
sonate — the next most important trading centre — in 
Ahuachapan, in Santa Ana, in Chalatenango, and in 
Sensuntepeque, all tell that formerly they imported 
their goods through English establishments almost 
exclusively, and that British travellers called upon 
them at regular intervals for their orders. To-day, 
the greater part of the orders, with some notable 
exceptions, are taken by German and American 
travellers, and a British " drummer " is about as rare 
an object as the fabulous Dodo. " We should be glad 
enough to see them," added one of my informants ; 
" but they seem to have forgotten that such a place 
as Salvador exists." 



142 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

The President of the Republic, General Fernando 
Figueroa, who retired last November from office, a 
very intelligent and charming man, in conversation 
with me, dwelt in the same strain concerning the 
disappearance of the Britisher as a trading factor from 
the Republic of Salvador. He frankly expressed both 
his regret and his surprise that the desirable com- 
merce of this wealthy and promising Central American 
State should have been practically abandoned by the 
shrewd and enterprising Northerners, when they had at 
one time so firm a hold upon its commercial relations. 

The Germans, who have to all intents and purposes 
taken possession of the connections, but not of the 
affections, of the Salvadoreans, which formerly were 
the almost exclusive holdings of the British, are now 
to be found everywhere. They not alone year by year 
further extend the tentacles of their trade by all 
usual means and methods, but they make a point of 
coming out to reside for a number of years ; and this 
is one of their strongest holds upon the country. The 
Germans are prepared to endure any personal sacrifice 
in the way of comforts or conveniences to make and 
maintain profitable commercial relations with the 
people of the countries among which they elect to 
trade. In the majority of cases they open branch- 
houses in the chief cities of these countries, sending 
either one of their partners, or, failing him, one of his 
junior relations, to live in the State and personally 
conduct the business of the house and closely study 
the conditions of the country. Dozens of bright, in- 
telligent, and enthusiastic young Germans are met 
with, who have been, perhaps, but a few years away 
from school or college, serving in their shirt-sleeves, 






THE INVADING GERMAN 143 

without a blush or sense of humiliation, behind the 
I counters at the small country stores, opening their 
establishments at 6 a.m., and closing them at 8 or 
9 p.m., Sundays and weekdays alike. 

I have asked many of these young fellows how 
many years they have been in the country, and how 
many more they mean to remain. Some have been 

I quite new arrivals ; others have been, perhaps, serving 
in Mexico, Costa Eica, Guatemala, and other of the 
Latin- American States ; but none of them, apparently, 
think of going home, even upon a temporary visit, in 
less than ten years, and to all appearances they are 
perfectly happy to be where they are, not even saving 
money, but building up a trade connection for them- 
selves or for their employers, as already indicated — 
in most cases their relations — which may one day 
prove valuable. 

I may say that, although these same young Germans 
live quite like the people of the country, eating the 
same food, occupying the same kind of houses, rising 
and retiring at the same primitive hours, and not 
infrequently even marrying into their families, they 
maintain all the cleanliness of their own lives and 
habits, and are always as orderly and as well-conducted 
in all relations of life as any self-respecting young 
man need be. 

While it is true that the Germans do not succeed, 
any more than North Americans, in ever endearing 
themselves to the inhabitants of these countries of the 
South, they do most assuredly earn the respect and 
the esteem of their neighbours, and succeed in living 
for many years in their countries, surrounded, as is 
found the case, by occasional revolution and internecine 



144 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

troubles, without in any way becoming involved in the 
vortex. 

This cannot be truthfully said of the average 
American, who comes down either upon a business or 
a pleasure trip ; the political affairs and the border 
complications seem to have a peculiar and dangerous 
fascination for him, and, as in the case of the cele- 
brated " Little Jack Horner " of nursery memories, 
he must have a finger in the pie. As often as not, the 
" plum " which he at length succeeds in pulling out 
proves to be a fairly indigestible one, and he is com- 
pelled to drop it and make a bolt from the kitchen 
rather precipitately, too. 

It would appear, from the statistics which are given 
in a previous chapter (see p. 106), that Great Britain 
in 1909 led in the net value of the country's foreign 
imports. The figures, however, must not be read in 
the light of competition only, but in the much more 
disturbing aspect of the closeness of their totals to 
the completion attained by the most serious rivals to 
the United Kingdom — namely, the United States and 
Germany. The returns for 1910 prove this. 

Comparison has been made with the figures of 1904 
(which were selected for the special purpose referred 
to), and I now desire my readers to glance at some of 
more recent date. 

For the whole of the Republic the foreign importa- 
tion of merchandise for 1908 was as follows : 
Packages = 267,791 ; kilogrammes = 18,830,121. 
Value : $4,240,561.21. Out of all the difi"erent 
countries concerned, we are interested for the moment 
in three only — namely, Great Britain, Germany, and 
the United States of America, and these returns stand 
as follows : 



FOREIGN IMPORTATION OF MERCHANDISE 145 





Packages. 


Kilos AVeiglit. 


Value. 


Great Britain 
Germany 
United States 


42,613 

29,605 

146,857 


3,740,138 
2,542,732 
9,765,056 


$ 
1,539,046 
442,860 
1,287,452 



Looking into the details of the returns, it seems 
that British textile and cotton manufactures have 
been the most vigorously attacked by both the 
German and the American competing houses, 
shares respectively for 1909 were as follow : 



The 



Great Britain 
United States 
Germany 



Total Value. 

$957,172.07 

451,692.72 

57,376.64 



In woollen and cotton textile goods there is not 
any further improvement in the trade of the United 
States, the 1910 figures being $300,075 ; but those 
of Germany stand at $71,080, as against $763,171 
for Great Britain. From this it will be observed 
that in this respect they "who were last may yet 
become first," a very significant fulfilment of the 
Biblical prognostication so far as Great Britain is 
concerned. The chief articles of export of "other 
countries " to Salvador are iron and hardware, 
$73,447.96 ; sacks for cofiee, $92,937.38 ; and various 
articles, $132,660.04. Germany is represented by an 
immense number of different articles, but none of 
them in net value touch very high figures. The most 
important is hardware, which is represented by a 
value of $69,092.25, while linen goods stand at 
$57,376.64, as against the British total of $957,172.07. 

A somewhat different kind of trade is done in this 
class of goods to that most general, for instance, in 
Guatemala. There the natives demand a cheaper 

10 



146 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

and more flimsy kind of material. In Salvador they 
would appear to prefer a somewhat higher class of goods 
and of a rather more sober pattern. The Germans are 
catering actively for this market, and although, as 
will be observed, they have a very long headway 
to make up before they approach to within the region 
attained by either the British or the American figures, 
the persistency with which the Teutons are pursuing 
these Latin- American markets makes their competition 
a serious factor for the future (see p. 149). 

In regard to exports from the port of Acajutla, a 
few words will suffice to explain the situation. France 
stands first as the recipient of the Republic's products 
from this particular port. The figures for the first 
half of the year (1909) show that France took coffee 
to the value of $749,946, Germany came next with 
$667,304, while the United States stood third with 
$506,064. Great Britain did not figure at all in the 
trade of Acajutla ; but from the port of La Liber tad 
the United Kingdom took goods to the value of 
$106,043 in coffee, against $127,740 by Germany, 
$311,093 by France, and $124,700 by the United 
States. 

$874,958.32 represents the total value of the coffee 
shipped from the port of La Libertad for the six 
months of that year. This business with England 
must have been carried on in foreign bottoms, for, as 
mentioned elsewhere, a British vessel had not been 
seen in the port of La Libertad for some years, a 
fact vouched for by the Comandante of the Port, 
who keeps the records of all ships arriving and 
departing. The values, it is as well to mention, are 
given in gold dollars, the equivalent in Salvadorean 
dollars being $2,186,495.80. In regard to the 



A 



AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS 147 

Bepublic's trade generally, the countries with which 
it does its export business stand in the following 
order of importance : France, Germany, United States, 
Italy, Austria, Great Britain, Spain, and " other 
countries." 

Reference may be made to the trade done in the 
article known as balsam, which is a product peculiar 
to Salvador. Hamburg is the principal market for the 
article, and its quotations fix the price for the world. 
Within the last two years the price has fluctuated 
from 12 to 22 marks per kilogramme — say $2.86 to 
$5.24 per 2.2 pounds. The price at the beginning of 
1909 was 14 marks — say, $3.33 per kilogramme. The 
method of obtaining the balsam is very curious, 
and is described at some length in Chapter YII. 

Manufacturers of agricultural implements and 
machinery for the Latin-American markets should 
remember that it is unnecessary and undesirable to 
make the articles in such a manner as to last for ever. 
While durability and substantiality are no doubt 
excellent features of machinery of all kinds, and in 
connection with British-made goods have always been 
much depended upon, it is quite possible to carry the 
virtue too far. It must be borne in mind that out 
" in the West " the same ideas do not prevail as at 
home, and in any case these countries are still in the 
experimental stage, when new industries are continu- 
ally superseding the old. The Americans and the 
Germans both understand this, and consequently they 
are ousting the British-made heavier goods from the 
market. 

What are required are light ploughs, watering-carts, 
hay-rakes, seed-sowers, and similar machines, but of 
a light yet strong character. The question of freight 



148 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

comes In very seriously, since not only is the steam- 
ship charge to be considered, but the frequently long 
overland journey upon mule-back. By the time that 
the implement or machine has reached its destination, 
it frequently costs double the invoice price. All easily 
detachable and duplicated-part machines are very 
much more in demand than other kinds, and they are 
but seldom found in Central America of British manu- 
facture. But there is absolutely no reason why they 
should not be made, and as freely sold, as the American 
classes, which are to be seen displayed — painted in all 
the gaudy colours of the rainbow — in practically every 
hardware store in Latin- America. No small part of 
the dealers' profits, either, is derived from supplying 
duplicate parts, due to losses and breakages. The 
purchasers seldom, if ever, complain of breakdowns, 
and they prefer discarding their latest purchase for a 
new, and maybe an untried, invention, which is 
advertised to do all the wonderful things which the 
late implement did, in addition to numerous others 
which it could not do. 

Small pamphlets, printed in Spanish, showing, with 
the aid of drawings, how the machine or implement may 
be detached, cleaned, repaired, and again put together, 
are also to be recommended. I would even suggest 
sending out with each article a brightly - coloured 
illustration of the machine in operation, since pur- 
chasers are very fond of hanging such upon their walls ; 
and in the absence of any other picture I have often 
seen the flaring advertisement of some totally different 
machine, such as a plough or a reaper, occupying a 
conspicuous position upon the house-walls of a farmer's 
establishment. If he were sufficiently fortunate to 
possess an actual illustration of his own particular 
machine, I think that he would gladly endow it with a 



STATISTICS FOR 1910 



149 



special frame, and thus advertise it freely for the 
benefit of the manufacturer. It is, therefore, well 
worth while for dealers to give such matters their 
attention. The initial cost is very small, while the 
corresponding advantages are undoubtedly great. At 
least our American and German competitors think so, 
and have the courage of their opinions. 

The present chapter could hardly be more usefully 
completed than by adding the latest trading returns 
to hand from the Kepublic — up to July, 1911 — which 
provide the figures for the whole of the year 1910. 
These show that what has been so long threatened has 
actually occurred — Great Britain has lost to the 
United States its first place upon the Imports List ; 
while upon the Exports List, it stands fifth. Here let 
the statistics speak for themselves : . , 





1908. 


1909. 


1910. 




Imports : 
United States 
Great Britain 

Great Britain,.. 


1,287,452 
1,539,047 


1,344,316 
1,438,614 


S 
1,346,598 
1,165,993 




+ 251,595 


+ 74,298 


-180,605 




Exports : 

United States 

Germany 

France 

Italy 

Great Britain 


$ 

2,046,398 

1,038,305 

1,417,428 

374,434 

449,167 


$ 

1,838,302 
955,888 

1,146,316 
400,163 
440,359 


S 

2,280,156 

1,584,627 

1,097,118 

609,674 

480.737 


+ 441,854 
+ 428,739 
- 49,198 
+ 209,611 
+ 40,278 



Thus, from having a surplus of trade in Salvador 
over all other countries in 1909 to the value of $74,298 
(as against $251,595 in 1908), we show a loss of 
$180,605 in 1910. While the United States, Ger-. 
many, and Italy all showed an increase in their 
purchases from Salvador of considerable amounts. 
Great Britain records the contemptible advance of 
$40,278 ! We may well echo Syrus's maxim : ^^ Heu, 
quam difficilis glorice custodia est r 



CHAPTER XII 

British fire apparatus — Story of a British installation — Coffee and sugar 
machinery — Cane-mills — Fawcett, Preston and Co. 's installations — 
High reputation enjoyed by British firms — United States coffee 
equipment— German competition — Methods of German commercial 
travellers — Openings for British trade — Effect of Panama Canal — A 
libel upon Salvador manufacturers — Salvador Chamber of Commerce. 

There are, on the other hand, certain classes of 
machinery and appliances of British manufacture 
which can be met with not only in practically every 
part of the world, but which no amount of foreign 
competition would seem to seriously affect. Among 
these specialized manufactures may be included, coffee 
and sugar machinery and fire-engines. The latter 
stand, indeed, quite alone as effective and universally 
known features of British construction, and I do not in 
any way exaggerate when I state that in no part of 
the world to which I have been — and that is equiva- 
lent to saying " everywhere upon the face of the 
habitable globe " — have I failed to see some kind of 
fire -extinguishing apparatus, old or new, of British 
manufacture. In the Central American States the 
reputation of such appliances stands very high, as was 
exemplified at the time of one of the several serious 
conflagrations which have afllicted San Salvador, and 
which occurred some four years ago, when a great 
portion of the capital city was for a time in jeopardy 
of destruction. One of the principal churches was 

150 



BRITISH FIRE-ENGINES 151 

actually destroyed, and this so affected the people 
that the Government determined to invest in fire- 
engines and necessary appliances. 

As soon as this determination became known, the 
ojficials were inundated with the catalogues of manu- 
facturers from Germany, France, the United States, 
and other countries. An emissary from America even 
came down personally from the States to canvass for 
the order ; but the reputation of the British fire- 
apparatus was strong and its general effectiveness was 
generally recognized, so that the Government did not 
hesitate in its decision to follow Mr. Mark J. Kelly's 
advice to award the order to a Greenwich firm. A 
larger type of the Merryweather steam-engine, with a 
very complete outfit for the firemen, has since been 
added, through the instrumentality of the same 
gentleman. 

Further proof of the utility of the English engines 
was afforded later on, when yet another serious and 
disastrous fire occurred in San Salvador, the work, 
it is believed, of an incendiary, with the result that 
an entire block of fine buildings, including the National 
Theatre, was burned to the ground. It is admitted 
by everyone that but for the services rendered by the 
fire-engines, and not a little also by the heroic work 
of the local brigade, the greater portion of the city, in 
all probability, would have been destroyed. It is the 
intention of the authorities, I understand, to further 
increase the effectiveness of the service by ordering 
more hose and additional salvage appliances. 

In conversation with the former President of the 
Republic, General Fernando Figueroa, upon one 
occasion, he paid an eloquent tribute to the excellence 
of British machinery of all kinds. He has had, it 



153 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

may be mentioned, some experience of the manufac- 
tures of other countries as well as of our own. He 
mentioned to me the fact that he recollected at one 
time that many British manufactures, not only of 
machinery, were to be met with largely in Salvador, 
and that the names of several of the large importing 
firms and store-keepers in many of the other cities of 
the State were British. To-day there are but five or 
six English houses to be found in Salvador. On the 
other hand, as previously pointed out, one meets with 
many German names, these ubiquitous and enterprising 
trade rivals having firmly established themselves in 
the Republic, as they have also succeeded in doing 
in Guatemala and Costa Bica. 

In regard to coffee and sugar machinery, of which 
mention has already been made, this trade is split up 
between the two houses of John Gordon and Co., of 
London, and Marcus Mason and Co., of New York. 
Both make excellent apparatus for the purpose of 
treating the berry and cane, the Germans in this 
particular direction finding but very little favour even 
among their own people. I visited several of the 
large jincas or estates, where both cofiee and sugar 
are treated, and in all such instances the properties 
were either owned or being managed by Germans. 
In all cases the machinery was either British or 
American, and in a number of instances both were 
freely employed. 

Upon inquiry, I was informed that the sugar 
machinery turned out by German manufacturers in 
the majority of cases is too complicated and delicate 
for practical purposes, and that it needs an expert 
mechanician — a decidedly rara avis in this part of 
the world — to understand the apparatus or to carry 



BRITISH SUGAR MACHINERY 153 

out the necessary repairs when things go wrong. In 
all of the factories visited by me the equipment, with 
the exception of the boilers and some of the vertical 
donkey-engines for feeding them, came either from 
Great Britain or the United States of America. 

One excellent testimonial to the superiority of 
British machinery was afforded at the Laguna Finca, 
belonging to Herr F^dor Deininger, who, as may be 
assumed from his name, is a German proprietor. Here 
I found a complete sugar-manufacturing plant, con 
sisting of cane-mill, liquor pumps and tanks, defecators, 
juice-heaters, clarifiers and evaporators, steam elimin- 
ators, filters, and, indeed, everything but the centri- 
fiigals, which alone were of German construction, had 
been provided by the Liverpool firm of Messrs. Fawcett, 
Preston and Co., Limited, of the Phoenix Foundry. 
The date upon this installation is " 1867 "; and Herr 
Deininger, the present owner of the factory, who 
acquired it from his uncle, Herr Bogen, some twenty 
years ago, declares that it is quite unnecessary to 
replace the installation, "as it is still working most 
satisfactorily." Of this I, indeed, assured myself by 
personal observation. I venture to believe that this 
is an altogether unique instance of a sugar- machinery 
installation, erected over forty-three years ago, and 
which has been in constant operation during that 
time, day by day, Sundays included, being found in a 
sufiiciently sound and workable condition as to need 
nothing more serious than an occasional replacement 
of a small part or a temporary stoppage for over- 
hauling. 

In Salvador there are several cane-mills of quite 
recent construction throughout, and in most instances 
these are the manufactures of Messrs. Fawcett, 



154 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Preston and Co., Limited, who, it would appear, have 
erected similar installations in many other parts of 
the world, since I have come across them in Southern 
Brazil, Cuba, India, and the Argentine. The cattle- 
mills, which are peculiarly adapted for this country, 
where oxen are used everywhere and for all purposes 
of road-hauling, are made with three horizontal rolls, 
secured upon strong gudgeons, running in adjustable 
gun-metal bearings, supported and held in place by 
two massive head-stocks bolted to a strong bedplate. 
This latter extends under the rolls from one side of 
the mill to the other, serving as a juice-pan attached 
to it. There is also fitted an upright shaft, turning 
in a footstep secured to the mill bedplate, and in a 
pedestal bolted to an entablature, supported by four 
pillars, which form part of the head- stocks. To this 
upright shaft is keyed a bevel-wheel, which gears into 
another keyed upon the toproll gudgeon. In addition 
to the bevel-wheel, the shaft is provided with iron- 
work for carrying wooden steps for the hitching of 
oxen, horses, or mules. 

Of recent years Messrs. Fawcett, Preston and Co., 
Limited, have introduced an improved type of Rousse- 
lot cane-mill, by which the returner-bar and knife 
are reduced to the smallest dimensions by a special 
patented arrangement of bringing the side-rolls as 
close together as the top cap-bolts will admit. These 
latter are inclined vertically to one another, and the 
effect of this arrangement is to reduce the width of 
the knife, and consequently the friction of the cane 
passing over it, and also economizing the power and 
consumption of fuel necessary to drive the mill. The 
special feature of the Pousselot patent is to be found 
in this improvement — that is to say, that the strain is 



SUGAR MACHINERY IMPROVEMENTS 155 

taken off the cast-iron head-stock by through bolts, 
which secure against the breakage of the head-stocks. 
Greater ease is also found both in the erection and 
the taking down of the mill. These rolls are made of 
a special mixture of cast-iron, selected as the best to 
withstand the wear and tear to which they are neces- 
sarily subjected. The gudgeons are of the best 
hammered scrap-iron, and are forced into the roUs by 
means of hydraulic pressure, while, in addition, the 
rolls are keyed on to the gudgeons. All the head- 
stocks, mill-bottom, and crown, are of cast-iron. 

Yet another improvement which this firm have 
introduced into their sugar machinery is in connection 
with the juice-heaters. These now consist of three 
cylindrical heaters of a compound type, with Chapman's 
patent steam separator, and which are fixed horizontally 
side by side, being so connected that while any one of 
the three is out of use for cleaning or repair, either of 
the other two can be worked as a high-pressure or 
finishing heater, and the other as a low-pressure 
heater, thus economizing considerable fuel. The steam 
separator worked in connection with these heaters 
economizes about 8 per cent, of the steam required in 
the multiple effect apparatus for evaporating the cane 
juice, since by this arrangement the steam that would 
otherwise flash off from the superheated juice into the 
atmosphere and be lost is collected and conveyed to 
the heating drums of the multiple effect, and so 
utilized for the evaporation of a corresponding amount 
of water from the juice. Improvements are also to be 
observed in connection with the subsiding defecators, 
the steam eliminators, bag-filters, the apparatus known 
as the "Coffey" still. 

Reference has been made above to the vogue which 



156 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

British-made coffee machinery, and especially that of 
Messrs. John Gordon and Co., of London, has had in 
the Latin-American States. So far as Salvador is con- 
cerned, I understand that this class of product stands 
in serious danger of being ousted from the market by 
American competition. While it is generally admitted 
that none better than British machinery for coffee, 
rice and cocoa can be obtained, the very success of 
these manufactures seems to an extent to have resulted 
in a slackness to obtain further orders, and the field, 
thus neglected, and always most carefully watched, is 
being occupied by the Americans. I am informed, for 
instance, that to-day fully 65 per cent, of the coffee 
machinery to be found in Salvador is of American 
make, and that fresh orders are being despatched 
frequently for further supplies. I also learn that no 
British traveller in this class of machinery has been 
seen in Salvador for fully five or six years, while, on 
the other hand, the largest of the United States manu- 
facturers has an agent, in this case a young German 
speaking Spanish fluently and possessing a very 
pleasant manner, who is continually travelling up and 
down the country, visiting the different jincas at 
which, apparently, he is always welcome, submitting 
drawings, plans, and estimates for improvements and 
new installations. 

Moreover, this young man is an expert mechanic, and 
most skilful in effecting repairs and alterations to 
machinery and plant installations. It is not at all 
difficult to understand how such an individual makes 
headway with the kind-hearted and hospitable Salva- 
dorean estate owners, and how he succeeds, not alone 
in obtaining orders from them for their coffee and other 
machinery, but in introducing German manufactures of 



DRUGS AND MEDICINES 157 

other kinds ; for your German traveller is always open 
for business, and, indeed, appears to live for very little 
else. Thus, it would seem, unless some " move " is 
made by British manufacturers of coffee and rice 
machinery in this part of the world, at no distant date 
the trade will be snatched from them ; and that once 
done, nothing will probably succeed in bringing it 
back again. Lost ground of this character is seldom 
recovered, and it may be hoped that those manufac- 
turers who are mostly concerned will take the hint 
here conveyed, and set out to put their neglected 
houses in order. The coffee industry of Salvador is 
the most important of all its exports, and its pursuit 
is the mainstay of the country. In 1910 the value was 
$5,130,404, out of a total export trade of $7,294,602. 

Among the British goods which 1 have more particu- 
larly noticed to be well displayed in the retail stores 
are chemical preparations and drugs. The Salvadoreans, 
like most Latin- Americans, are large users of all kinds 
of patent medicines ; and although a great many of 
these come from the United States, those of British 
manufacture are not at all poorly represented. Such 
articles as Eno's Fruit Salt, ApoUinaris and Apenta 
Water, Pears' Soap, Odol, and many of the better- 
known vegetable pills, are to be found here — except 
Cockle's, which are a very difficult drug to obtain, 
although in my opinion one of the most efficacious. 
The chemists' shops are full of all kinds of other drugs 
and patent medicines, and apparently the proprietors 
conduct a remarkably good trade. 

Relative to the trade of pharmacy, a new law is 
proposed which will regulate the practice of this trade, 
and which will create a Faculty of Pharmacy and 
Natural Sciences, to which all chemists and druggists. 



158 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

whether native or foreign, operating in the country, 
must belong. In default of membership in this faculty, 
a special licence will have to be taken out for pharma- 
ceutical practice. 

Drugs, medicines, and perfumery to the value of 
$82,676 were imported in 1910. 

In regard to British wines and spirits, these are 
hardly ever seen except in the houses of the few 
British residents who may have imported a small 
supply for their own use. The total value of victuals, 
wines and spirits, however, is not inconsiderable, 
amounting in 1909 to about 12,748,249 kilos, repre- 
senting a value of £179,431, which, however, contrasts 
with 15,689,307 kilos, or a value of £211,819, for the 
previous year. The wheat, rice, cereals and breakfast 
foods, which are not as well known here as in other 
parts of Latin- America, come from the United States, 
which also send here by far the greater part of the 
lard, tallow, dairy produce, sweetmeats, and dried and 
smoked meat and fish. The United Kingdom shares 
in the salt trade, but this is only small. 

I am of opinion that a better trade could be done by 
exporters of British beers and liquors, which would be 
purchased here to a more considerable extent. The 
number of cafes and restaurants is increasing, and the 
tendency of the inhabitants, especially in good times, is 
to dine from home. Although beer is brewed, it is more 
the beverage of the workers than of the well-to-do. 

In regard to the tobacco and liquor trades carried on 
in Salvador, a record of the progress and management 
is maintained by means of the regulations which have 
been introduced covering the operation of cigar and 
cigarette factories and of breweries and bottling 
establishments in the Bepublic. This control has been 



PANAMA CANAL AND TRADE 159 

in vogue since June of 1909. Proprietors of these 
establishments are required to furnish to the proper 
authorities a sworn statement as to the capacities of 
their plants, the number of the operatives employed, 
etc. The analyses previously ordered for wines and 
liquors is also extended to beers, both manufactured 
and imported. 

In regard to the duties on wines and canned goods, 
imported liquors pay a duty of 50 cents ; heavy and 
white wines, 25 cents ; and old table wines, 5 cents — per 
quart bottle. Canned goods pay 10 cents per kilo 
(=:2'204,622 pounds). These duties are in addition 
to Customs charges. 

What eifect will the completion and opening of the 
Panama Canal have upon Salvador and other Central 
American countries ? I have often been asked this 
question, and perhaps this is as good a place as any in 
which to answer it. That capital from North America 
will flow more abundantly into Central America after 
the completion of the great waterway is a practical 
certainty ; but I do not consider that there will be any 
such considerable augmentation, nor that the difference 
will be so prodigious, in regard to results, as some 
critics imagine. For many years to come the United 
States, with its great area and its many undeveloped 
resources, will need more capital — much more, indeed, 
than it can conveniently find among its own people ; 
that is to say, it will have to borrow from Europe in 
addition to saving all that it can on its own account. 
The old world has nowadays fewer opportunities for 
industrial and commercial expansion ; money is com- 
paratively cheap, and all new countries on the other 
side of the Atlantic offer the inducement of higher 
interest. 



160 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

How much of this investment will be made with 
purely American money ? The Yankees are certainly 
becoming more and more enthusiastic, and at the same 
time more and more reckless, in their foreign invest- 
ments, and especially in regard to Latin-American 
countries. Nevertheless they have a long way to go 
before, in actual figures, they can in any way approach 
the value and extent of British foreign investments. 
In regard to the return which their investments bring 
them also, they have, on the whole, proved far less 
fortunate. In all probability, British foreign holdings 
in South and Central America to-day approach the sum 
of £500,000,000 ( = $2,500,000,000), and upon this 
gigantic amount of capital they earn a fair average of 
5|- per cent, per annum, allowing for the higher and 
the lower rates of interest paid, and which amounts to 
anything between 25 per cent, and 35 per cent, on 
some land shares, and the modest 4j per cent, and 
4f per cent, earned upon railway debentures. I also 
include in this return some " bad eggs " among a very 
diversified list of investments. 

I should say, on the other hand, that American 
foreign investments would not amount in the aggre- 
gate to more than £200,000,000 ($1,000,000,000), and 
of this at least seven-tenths are invested in the 
Bepublic of Mexico, and probably two-tenths in enter- 
prises in Canada. American foreign investments are, 
in a large measure, tributary to great concerns located 
in the United States, which have their agents in 
foreign countries looking after their local interests. 
From this considerable invested amount it would be 
impossible to estimate a higher return than 2| or 3 per 
cent. ; for while many of the investments — such as the 
Standard Oil interests in Mexico and the many bank- 



PANAMA CANAL EFFECT 161 

ing interests in Cuba, Panama and other countries — 
yield often a sensational amount of profit, so much 
capital has been lost through rank speculation and dis- 
honest management, and so little sound judgment has 
been displayed in the matter of sound original selection, 
that a considerable portion has been irretrievably lost. 
This has been the case in the Sonora district of Mexico 
(especially in the Cananea Copper-Mines) ; in the gold 
and silver mines of Guanajuato ; and in connection 
with some of the railways of Costa Rica, Guatemala 
and Ecuador, so that what has been made on the 
one hand has, to an appreciable extent, been lost on 
the other. 

Thus I do not anticipate any very pronounced rush 
of American capital into Central America merely 
because the Canal will have become U7i fait accompli. 
On the other hand, the United States trade and 
commerce must feel benefit from the speedier means of 
transport. Already the United States control 60*8 per 
cent, of the importations into Mexico, and 89 per cent, 
into Panama ; something over 70 per cent, into Costa 
Rica, and about 60 per cent, (increasing year by year) 
into Guatemala. With the active assistance of the 
Washington Government, in conjunction with the com- 
pulsory financial " assistance " forced upon them by the 
J. Pierpont Morgan Syndicate, Honduras will also 
shortly be taking about 80 per cent, of the United 
States goods as well as accepting nolens volens the loan 
of United States capital. 

It is, however, the Republics of Ecuador, Peru, 
Bolivia and Chile which will become better markets 
for the United States through the medium of the 
Panama Canal ; and while I was travelling recently 
upon the west coast, I particularly remarked the 

11 



162 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

arrangements which were being organized to handle 
this anticipated additional trade with all efficiency and 
despatch. American agents were busy opening-up new 
branches or appointing local representatives to handle 
the goods destined to be consigned in increased quanti- 
ties ; German houses, already established, were also 
arranging their houses and remodelling their order- 
books to deal with the expected reorganization of 
North American trade, all of which proves that a very 
substantial belief exists in the approaching trade 
" boom " consequent upon the opening, in 1915, of the 
Panama Canal. 

What attention are British manufacturers and British 
agents paying to this all- important question ? This is 
very easily answered — None ! 

The first place in the Imports from European 
countries into Salvador is given to cotton-manu- 
factured goods, nearly the whole of which, I may 
again point out, come from Great Britain. In 1906, 
out of a total of $4,000,000, which represented the 
value of the imports, cotton goods figured for 
$1,500,000, or 30 per cent, of the total. Of this 
$1,500,000, Great Britain was responsible for $974,964, 
which represented woven goods, in addition to $141, 328 
representing the value of thread. The United States 
came second on the list, with textiles valued at 
$409,072, and thread $2,885, although in the list of 
this classification America was outranked by both 
Germany and France, which sold thread to Salvador to 
the value of $8,349 and $4,160 respectively. These 
two countries exported textiles to Salvador to the 
amount of $32,199 and $71,890 respectively, while 
Italy figured for $54,952. 

In this class of goods, practically the same relative 



I 



WOOLLEN GOODS 163 

status of countries has been maintained on the Import 
list of the Republic since the year 1876 ; but it is note- 
worthy that the position of cotton imports has, in the 
intervening period, declined no less than 50 per cent, 
of the total ; on the other hand, the value of cotton 
thread destined for use in the mills of the country 
has increased fivefold since 1901, while mixtures of 
woollens, linens and silks have also advanced in value. 
This is to be explained by the fact that more woollen 
and cotton mills are gradually being erected in the 
Bepublic, and that a great amount of encouraging 
success is attending their operations. The skill of the 
native weavers, the improvement of the quality of the 
cottons, and the industrious lives of the inhabitants, 
are all factors which have led the Government to con- 
sider the advisability of encouraging the growth of the 
required supply upon a more comprehensive scale. 
Already, indeed, the Government have commenced, 
offering export bounties for the surplus stock, with a 
view to stimulating the culture. 

In this connection it is difficult to understand how 
any intelligent writer, who claims to have visited 
Salvador with his eyes open, could have published 
such an utterly misleading and untruthful statement 
of fact as that which appears in a book entitled 
" Central America," from the pen of Mr. Frederick 
Palmer, F.H.G.S., who upon p. 112 of that volume 
declares that "the only manufactures are from an 
occasional hand-loom." Mr. Palmer does not inform 
his readers how many days or hours he remained 
in Salvador, but apparently they were insufficient 
to enable him to make himself even superficially 
acquainted with the industrial conditions of the 
Bepublics. He devotes exactly eleven and a half 



164 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

pages out of a total of 340 to this country, and upon 
nearly each one of these pages he indulges in either 
an exaggeration or in a misstatement, sometimes in 
both. 

An important factor in the trade relations existing 
between Great Britain and the E,epublic of Salvador 
is found in the Salvador Chamber of Commerce in 
London (Incorporated), which was established upon 
the initiative of Mr. Mark J. Kelly, RKG.S., in 
February, 1903, and duly incorporated under licence 
of the Board of Trade. It will be remembered that 
the President of the Salvadorean Chamber of Com- 
merce in San Salvador, as well as being its Founder, 
is Senor Don Miguel Duenas, Sub- Secretary of State 
for Agriculture. The first President of the Chamber 
was Mr. C. S. S. Guthrie, of 9, Idol Lane, London, E.C., 
with Mr. C. Rozenraad, President of the Federation 
of Foreign Chambers of Commerce in the United 
Kingdom, as Vice-President. The objects of the 
Association are to promote the trade, agriculture and 
industry of Salvador with the British Empire ; to keep 
members informed and acquainted with all matters in 
connection with the trade of Salvador ; and to promote 
study upon all questions relating to the various inter- 
national Conventions which concern the trade between 
Salvador and Great Britain, as well as to act as 
commercial arbitrators at the request of interested 
parties, and exclusively in commercial disputes, where 
the interests of Salvador trade are at stake. The 
Chamber numbers some forty members, composed of 
merchants of London and other parts of the United 
Kingdom doing business with Salvador. Upon his 
resignation of the chairmanship of the Salvador Bail- 
way, Mr. Guthrie also resigned from the Chamber of 



CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 165 

Commerce, and, at the urgent request of the Council 
of the Chamber, Mr. Kelly, who with characteristic 
modesty had refrained from allowing himself to be 
elected as the first President, accepted the post (which 
is a purely honorary one), and is now the President of 
the Chamber. 



CHAPTER Xni 

Systems of business — Long credits — British and United States methods 
versus German — Making " good " stock losses — Question of exchange 
— Effect upon business — Drafts and speculators — Customary terms 
of payment — Central American banks as agents — Prominent Salva- 
dorean Banks — The Press of the Eepublic — Prominent newspapers — 
Some of their contributors — Central American Press Conference. 

The general idea prevails among both British and 
North American manufacturers, who have had little 
personal experience of the Latin - Americans, that 
extreme difficulties must inevitably be connected with 
all — or, at least, with most — transactions conducted 
in these countries, as far as payment for goods is con- 
cerned. I can but observe that the Latin- Americans 
as a race, if not more honest than Europeans or North 
Americans, are by no means any less so ; and probably, 
if sufficiently reliable information were obtainable, it 
would be found that these former are, as a whole, 
quite as ready and able to meet their foreign obliga- 
tions as any class of traders in either hemisphere. 

As I have, however, pointed out in another chapter 
of this volume, it would be extremely unwise upon the 
part of any firm in Great Britain or in the United 
States to attempt to conduct their transactions by 
correspondence ; an Agent is indispensable if difficulties 
in transportation and delivery through the Customs, 
as well as the collection of the account when due, are 
to be avoided. 

166 



BANK PROCEDURE 167 

In most of the Central American ports and cities, 
especially (in Salvador) at La Libertad, La Union, 
El Triunfo, and Acajutla, the services of such Agents 
are obtainable. Moreover, some of the banks under- 
take to look after the interests of their correspondents 
who are recommended to them, and who are prepared 
to pay a fair price for the services rendered. 

The usual method of conducting transactions of this 
kind is to draw upon the purchaser of goods for the 
amount of the invoice, and to negotiate the draft 
through some local bank, which will in the majority 
of cases collect the amount, provided the shipping 
documents be delivered in good order and are found 
to be free from consular or Customs-house objections. 
The banks, naturally, take no responsibility in the 
matter ; and in any case the shipper should know 
something reliable about the firm and their financial 
status before entrusting them with the goods. Another 
mode is for the purchaser of the goods to arrange with 
his own bankers to open a credit with the shipping 
firm to be operated upon, against delivery of the 
documents to the bank indicated, or in such other 
form as may be agreed upon ; while a third expedient 
— an unusual one, however, and not to be recom- 
mended — is to make a remittance to the buyer before- 
hand, either by means of a bank draft or cable transfer. 
The safest method to adopt is to draw bills on the 
importing firm at a usance,^ agreed upon at the time 
that the order is taken, generally from 90 to 120 
days' sight, and to pass the bill and documents 
through the bank for collection or sale. The draft is 

* Usance =«= the time which in certain countries is allowed by custom or 
usage for tlae payment of bills of exchange drawn on those countries. — ■ 
Author. 



168 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

usually made payable in return remittance at 90 days' 
sight on London, Hamburg, or New York, but this is 
quite a matter of mutual arrangement between buyer 
and seller. 

American as well as British export firms are, as a 
rule, disinclined to give credit, while the German, on 
the other hand, offers as much as his customer 
demands. Undoubtedly the latter loses a larger pro- 
portion of his book-debts by pursuing so generous a 
policy ; but at the same time he multiplies the orders 
upon his books, and he has a clever and somewhat un- 
scrupulous way of so manipulating the accounts of his 
honest customers as to make them directly or in- 
directly liquidate the debts of the dishonest ones. 
How this is done I do not know, but I know that it is 
done, for I have the assurance to that effect from more 
than one German trader who has thus balanced his 
ledger for several years, and always without suffering 
any bad consequences. 

That the sanctimonious and strictly conscientious 
British tradesman is not altogether averse, upon occa- 
sions, to pursue similar methods was shown some few 
years ago, when a prominent West End saddler con- 
fessed to the fact that when he took stock and found a 
gentleman's £5 saddle was missing, and that he was 
unable to remember to whom it had been sold, he 
instructed his bookkeeper to charge up this item 
to each one of the firm's customers. " Some," he 
unctuously observed, " will, of course, deny that they 
have had such a saddle ; to these you can write and 
express our profound apologies for the unintentional 
error, etc. Those who don't complain will probably be 
unable to remember what they had and what they did 
not have. Let them pay. Thus we shall get square." 



CLEARING GOODS 169 

And it is to be added that so careless or forgetful 
are the majority of the customers of a " high- class " 
firm in London, that 70 per cent, of those who were 
wrongly charged with the missing saddle paid the 
unjust bill without questioning it. 

Adverting to the subject of granting long credit to 
Central American importers of foreign goods, it must 
be remembered that the majority of these latter are 
obliged to ask for this indulgence on account of the 
excessively large amounts which they are called upon 
to find in order to clear their consignments from the 
Customs ; and also because the retail business which 
is carried on in these, as in practically all agricultural 
countries, is a long-credit one. Only the most liberal 
concessions of credit can secure any decisive advantage 
for any one of the numerous competitors in business. 
Additionally, it is not always possible for the importer 
to secure good drafts at low rates in the market. In 
some of the countries — and Salvador is not any excep- 
tion — the market for drafts is completely dominated by 
speculators, evidence of which is to be found in the 
fact that heavy and unaccountable fluctuations pre- 
sent themselves at short intervals. The possibility of 
speculators thus controlling the market is increased by 
their finding in the banks — no matter how highly these 
may be ranked as honourably-conducted institutions — 
ready allies. 

The question of exchange in Salvador, and the bane- 
ful effect which it has, and for some years has had, 
upon commerce and trade, especially upon the profit- 
able conduct of the Salvador Railway, is more 
fully dealt with in another part of this volume (see 
Chapter XV.). But a few observations concerning 
the character of the exchange business in Central 



170 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

American countries generally may not be out of place 
here. 

In Honduras, exchange rates are often only nominal, 
because no regular commercial paper is to be found in 
the market. The large exports of minerals, bananas, 
and other produce, are covered, since the proprietors, 
who are mostly foreigners, need only the necessary 
amount for the wages of their labourers, and this is 
remitted to the country by means of drafts. The 
exporters, moreover, consider the premium on gold not 
only as profit earned upon their sales, but as represent- 
ing an economy in their working expenses, since the 
export product and the wages for labour are paid for 
in silver, which naturally makes the first cost of the 
product much less. Drafts are in this way arbitrarily 
held back and kept out of the market, or prices are 
asked for them which are out of all proportion to the 
silver quotations of London and New York. So the 
importer in these silver standard countries, in some of 
which the exportation of the white metal is prohibited, 
finds himself compelled to wait for a favourable oppor- 
tunity to buy drafts at a low rate in order to pay for 
his purchases in foreign countries. 

The customary terms of payment for European 
houses are four to six months from the date of the 
invoice ; in many cases shipments are made " to 
order," and the bill of lading is delivered to the 
purchaser when he accepts the seller's draft at his 
local bank, and in this way the customer is held to 
strict observance of the time when the bill falls due. 
In case of failure of the customer to meet his drafts 
when they mature, the matter is generally arranged 
by issuing drafts payable at sight after ninety days 
on London or Hamburg, with payment of interest 



CREDIT ACCOMMODATION 171 

for the time they are out. The operations of having 
drafts accepted and remitting the funds collected 
through them are carried out by the large banks or 
private banking firms located in these countries in 
consideration of a commission varying between J and 
2 per cent. 

Open credits (that is to say, running accounts which 
the customer can vary in amount to suit his needs, 
with payment of interest, of course) are no longer 
granted, except by a few firms to some of their oldest 
and best customers. 

The intelligent and not over-cautious European 
exporter accepts without hesitation the usual six- 
months terms, because he has some knowledge of 
these countries and their people ; and he often prefers 
such a settlement to cash in advance, since he likewise 
recognizes that he is binding the customer to do more 
business with his firm. On the other hand, one often 
hears commercial houses complain that when they 
decide to place a trial order with North American firms 
which are desirous of doing business with them, and 
have repeatedly and insistently solicited such orders, 
they are required to pay cash with the order. That 
nobody in Central America would accept such terms, 
or at least very seldom, the clever Yankee business 
man ought to be able to see, especially as the most 
notable traits of the Spanish -American character are 
extreme sensitiveness and the need of courteous 
treatment. 

A cash discount of 3 to 4 per cent, is not much 
of an inducement in a country where the usual rates 
of interest are 18 to 40 per cent. Some of the banks 
of Central America, which secure but a small and 
unimportant share of the business going, and which 



172 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

pay less attention to the development of the country 
than to the needs of their own treasuries, often demand 
1 to 1^ per cent, monthly, with security worth two or 
three times the sum loaned. 

There are no established commercial agencies in 
Central America which furnish information, but reliable 
information uninfluenced by personal interests can 
sometimes be obtained from the principal banking 
firms — such, for instance, in Guatemala, as the Inter- 
national Bank, American Bank or Guatemala Bank, 
Clermont and Co., Schlubach, Dauch and Co. ; in 
Salvador, from the Banco Agricola, Occidental or 
National Bank, and Messrs. David Bloom and Co. ; 
in Panama, Messrs. Ehrmann Brothers ; in Honduras, 
from J. Bossner and Co., P. Maier and Co., Francisco 
Siercke, and Juan Stradtmann ; in Nicaragua, from 
the young and well-respected British Consul, Mr. 
Albert J. Martin ; and in Costa Rica from the follow- 
ing banks : Anglo-Costa Rica, Commercial and Sasso 
and Pirie. These houses are better informed than 
anyone else about the amount of credit customers may 
deserve, because, knowing the promptness with which 
the various firms meet their outstanding drafts, they 
are in a position to form a reliable opinion of the 
solvency of prospective or actual customers. 

The Banco Agricola Comercial has a subscribed 
capital of $5,000,000, of which $1,000,000 is paid up. 
The Reserve Fund amounts to $100,000, and Even- 
tualities Fund to $115,180. The Permanent Director 
is Sefior Mauricio Duke, and the Consulting Directors 
Senores J. Mauricio Duke and Eugenio Aguila. There 
are two other Sub-Directors, Senores Rafael Guirola 
and Miguel Judice. Sefior F. Drews is the General 
Manager. 



i 



BANCO AGRICOLA 



173 



The Banco Agricola Comercial, which was established 
in 1895, has gone through more than one critical 
financial and commercial period, but it has come out 
of the ordeal with considerable credit to itself. There 
can be no doubt that the bank has been a great 
assistance to agriculture and trade generally in the 
Bepublic, nor that it has not done at all badly for itself, 
which fact is seen from the last balance-sheets issued. 
In 1908, upon a total turnover of $14,500,000, the 
bank's profits were $145,634 (silver p^sos). There 
was a dividend of 8 per cent, paid to the shareholders 
upon the paid-up capital of $1,000,000 (p^sos) after 
all charges for administration had been met, and a 
substantial addition made to the Emergency Fund. 
In 1909 the total amount of business transacted figured 
at $16,200,000 (silver pesos). 

The following summary of the bank's financial 
transactions and position over a period of three years 
will be of interest : 







"rf-TS m 






fl 




r4 


CoTTiTnerci 
Paper an 
Mortgage 


Account 

and 
Deposits 


Account 
bearing 
Interest 


'-J3 


First half of 1907 


717 


588 


906 


780 


816 


Second „ „ 


565 


758 


828 


931 


741 


First half of 1908 


935 


779 


1,175 


991 


816 


Second „ „ 


1,441 


1,013 


1,485 


1,186 


984 


First half of 1909 


1,424 


1,213 


1,954 


1,142 


921 


Second „ „ 


946 


1,181 


1,603 


1,453 


969 



It will be observed that the last year's showing is 
less favourable to the bank, but this may be attributed 
to the heavy demands made upon its resources in 
financing the movement of the coffee crop. The 
metallic reserve for meeting outstanding obligations 



174 SALVADOR OF THE T\^^NTIETH CENTURY 

over the same period had been considerably weakened in 
consequence, as the subjoined table will prove : 



METALLIC RESERVE. 
(A denotes notes alone ; B denotes notes, deposits and current accounts.) 



At the End of the Month, 
in per Cent. 


June. 


December. 


A. 


B. 


A. 


B. 


1907 
1908 
1909 


87-89 
114-39 
154-60 


44-63 
46-90 
49-54 


76-27 

146-35 

97-62 


37-82 
58-33 
34-36 



This bank, like others in Salvador, does not disclose 
the character of its investments, and it is therefore 
impossible to pronounce any opinion of its actual 
financial status. It is always desirable to know some- 
thing regarding the character of the paper which a 
bank has in hand, and it is precisely this knowledge 
which is withheld, and by many British companies also. 
The omission to provide it is in no way the fault of the 
bank, be it observed, but of the custom which controls 
its actions. In Costa Rica alone, among the Central 
American States, is the practice general among the 
banks to publish in the balance-sheets some particulars 
of the commercial paper carried, and this is taken into 
account like every other asset and inventoried. In 
Costa Rica, also, all the issuing banks have their books 
inspected once a month by Government officials, and a 
certificate of solvency is presented to and published by 
them. 

The National Bank of Salvador (Banco Nacional) 
was founded in 1907 with a capital of $1,000,000 (silver 
pesos). Of this amount one-half has been paid up. 



NATIONAL BANK 



175 



The following statement of account for the first three 
years of its existence will be useful : 





1907. 


1908. 


First Half 
of 1909. 


Total earnings 
Deductions... 

Net profits 

Increase in 


18,173.74 
3,000.00 


38,786.85 
8,138.35 


26,175.36 
6,175.36 


15,173.74 30,648.50 
1908, 15,442.26. 


20,000.00 



The balance-sheet shows the following accounts 





1907. 


1908. 


First Half 
of 1909. 


Negotiable paper 

Loans on current accounts 

Cash 

Notes in circulation ... 

Credit and deposits at sight ... 

Time obligations 


568,727 
546,331 
264,374 
90,908 
211,361 
223,905 


675,176 
777,847 
634,803 
517,153 
365,333 
502,174 


427,751 
724,734 
449,207 
426,732 
302,870 
436,682 



The metallic reserve account stood as follows : 



At the End of the Month, 
in per Cent. 


June. 


December. 


A. 


B. 


A. 


B. 


1907 
1908 
1909 


354-32 
115-93 
105-26 


39-36 
60-10 
38-50 


262-90 
126-47 


60-05 
42-70 



The steady increase shown is somewhat remarkable, 
and the distribution of profits, considering the com- 
paratively recent establishment of this bank, hardly 
less so. This distribution, after making all the neces- 
sary provisions, stood as follows : 



176 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 





1907. 


1908. 


First Half 
of 1909. 


Eeserve fund 
Emergency fund 
Dividends ... 
Undivided surplus ... 


3,000 
15,173 


7,000 

2,000 

30,618 

2,980 


10,000 
2,000 

21,503 
1,675 



For the first six months of 1909, the dividend 
declared and paid was 4 per cent, upon the amount of 
capital paid up =$500, 000 (silver pesos). For the 
remaining half-year and for 1910, and the first half of 
1911, increased distributions have been made, and the 
financial condition and prospects of the Banco 
Nacional are considered to be in a satisfactory state. 
Sefior Guillermo Hemmeler is the Manager, and he 
has bought up the connection of the bank's customers 
consistently from the time that he first assumed con- 
trol. The bank allows 3 per cent, interest upon 
current accounts, and it has the privilege of issuing its 
own notes. 

El Banco Salvadoreno was established in 1885, and 
has a subscribed and paid-up capital of $3,000,000. 
The Eeserve Fund amounts to $231,985.80 and the 
Dividend Equalization Fund to $20,000 ; the Eventu- 
alities Fund at present stands at $50,000. There are 
branches established at Santa Ana (the Manager being 
Senor Cuno G. Mathies) and at San Miguel (the 
Manager being Senor B. Schlensz). The General 
Manager in San Salvador is Senor AJberto W. Augspurg , 
who speaks English very well, and is invariably courte- 
ous and obliging to foreigners who seek his assistance 
or advice. 

Banking business in Salvador always has been, and 
still is, carried on by a few private firms. The estab- 
lishment conducted by Messrs. Blanco and Trigueros was 



MESSRS. DAVID BLOOM AND CO. 177 

founded as far back as 1835, with a capital estimated 
at $1,500,000. In 1893 the Bank of Nicaragua opened 
a branch office in the city of San Salvador, and for 
long did a good and steady business. Certain con- 
cessions and privileges were also granted to Messrs. 
Linares and Co., of Barcelona, Spain, enabling them to 
establish a national bank in San Salvador, with a capital 
of £1,000,000 sterling. A concession was also graated 
for the establishment of a purely Mortgage Bank, but 
up till now such an establishment has not been 
started. 

The House of David Bloom and Co., with branches 
at New York and San Francisco, is composed of 
Messrs. David and Benjamim Bloom, and who are the 
principal private bankers of the Government. Subject 
to the criticism which this position involves, mainly 
upon the part of those, perhaps, who are not as well 
endowed as are Messrs. Bloom and Co. with moral 
courage and confidence in the peaceful continuity of 
government in Salvador, this firm enjoys an excellent 
reputation for fair dealing, and is well regarded 
throughout the country. 

The Press of the Republic is well represented by 
some five or six daily newspapers, several weekly 
publications, and a number of monthly reviews. There 
are entirely free press laws existing, and on the whole 
there is no abuse of the privileges accorded for ex- 
pressing public opinion. El Diario del Salvador was 
founded in July of 1894 by Senor B. Mayorga Bivas, 
and is to-day conducted by the same talented journal- 
ist and cultured writer. The General Manager is 
Senor J. M. Lacayo T^llez. Among its regular con- 
tributors are Senores J. Dols Corpefio, a young but 
vigorous writer ; Armando Rodriguez Portillo, who 

12 



178 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

is but thirty years of age ; and other distinguished 
litterateurs of Salvador. El Diario Latino, of which 
Sefior Miguel Pinto is the Director and Proprietor, and 
Senor Juan Ram6n Uriarte is the Editor, has a large 
and influential circulation, which is by no means con- 
fined to the Republic itself El Heraldo del Salvador, 
which is the recognized organ of the Church, is edited 
by the Rev. Dr. Eduardo Martinez Balsalobre. It is, 
as may be assumed, a high-class publication, and pub- 
lishes occasionally some powerful literary contributions 
from the pens of some of the most talented writers. 
El Diario Oficial is the property and exponent of the 
Government, but scarcely takes rank as a newspaper, 
being in all respects similar to our London Gazette, 
with the exception that it prints daily a good service 
of cables. 

Among the many weekly publications of note may 
be cited La Riqueza and La Vida y Verdad; La 
Semana Mercantil, which is the organ of the Society 
known as " Orden y Prosperidad " ; El Franciscano, a 
Catholic paper conducted by a Franciscan Brother ; 
Repertorio del Diario del Salvador, a well-illustrated 
review of literary, commercial, and social matters, and 
edited by a gentleman bearing the very English name 
of Samuel C. Dawson. This publication is, as its title 
may suggest, closely allied with the great daily paper 
El Diario del Salvador. Other publications are — La 
Razon Catdlica, a monthly Church organ ; El Comer- 
cio del Salvador, also a monthly illustrated dealing 
with politics, sociology, and a variety of other subjects ; 
En Serio y en Broma, a humorous monthly review ; 
as well as a large number of technical prints, weekly 
and monthly, such as — Anales del Museo Nacional, 
Archivos del Hospital Rosales, Vida Lntelectuali Revista 




GOVERNMEXT BUILDING ("CaSA BLANCA "), SaN SALVADOR. 




Campo de Marte (Race Course), San Salvador. 



THE PRESS 179 

Judicial, Boletin de Agricultura, Revista Cientijico- 
Militar, Lihro Rosado de El Salvador, Boletin Munici- 
pal, Boletin del Consejo Superior de Saluhridad, La 
Voz del Obrero, Boletin Masonico, La Buena Prensa, 
Jja Luciernaga, and Juan de Arco. 

Each of the Departments has likewise one or more 
daily or weekly papers, many carrying great influence 
among the better-class Salvadoreans, who are both 
diligent readers and intelligent critics. In Santa Ana 
there are El Democrata, which was founded in 1900, 
and a weekly known as El Santaneco. In Chalchuapa 
there are two weeklies, La Vanguardia and El Patriota; 
in Achuachapan there is one weekly, La Nueva Era ; 
in Sonsonate, La Prensa, also a weekly ; in Santa 
Tecla, Don Bosco, a weekly which is the organ of the 
Instituto Salesiano ; in Cojutepeque there are two 
periodicals, one weekly and one monthly, respectively 
known as El Im.pareial and El Cuscatleco ; in Suchitoto, 
a monthly review. La Mujer (The Woman), holds the 
field ; in Santiago de Maria, El Anunciador ; and in 
San Miguel, El Eco de Oriente. A fair share of local 
advertising is accorded to aU. of these publications, but, 
of a necessity, in the majority of cases the circulation 
is small. 

There was recently formed a Central American 
Press Association, composed of the representatives of 
the principal newspapers published in the five Re- 
publics of Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, 
and Honduras. Already the news published in each 
State concerning the sister-Republics is full ; but the 
new association, working by means of a mutual ex- 
change of information fit for publication, will result 
in a considerably improved service being maintained. 
The papers which have taken the initiative in this 



180 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

important Association are — Diario del Salvador (El 
Salvador), Diario de Centro America (Guatemala), 
Diario de Nicaragua (Nicaragua), and La Republica 
(Costa Kica). Towards the end of this year (1911) a 
Conference of Press Representatives is to be held in 
San Salvador, which is expected to be attended with 
considerable success, and even far-reaching conse- 
quences. 



CHAPTER XIV 

Mining — Ancient workings— Precious metals found — Copper deposits — 
Iron ores — Treatment of ores in England — Difficulties of transport — 
Some deceased authorities — Mines in operation — Butters' Salvador 
mines — History of undertaking — Large profits earned — Directorial 
policy — Machinery and equipment — Butters' Divisadero Mines — 
Butters' cyaniding plant. 

Tradition points to the fact that the whole of the 
Central American States were more or less mineralized, 
while some of them, such as Honduras and Salvador, 
have long been known to contain great mineral wealth. 
The geological conditions of Salvador, as may be 
inferred from the physical facts which have already 
been set forth in these pages, show that precious 
metals have been found in some of the Departments. 
There are on record considerable operations in connec- 
tion with the different Salvador mines of Tabanco, 
Sociedad, and others in their immediate vicinity and 
lying in the north-eastern part of the Department of 
San Miguel, on the confines of Honduras. 

These mines have been extensively worked, and 
have in their time yielded very profitable results. 
About six miles distant from Tabanco are the gold- 
mines of Capi talis, once believed to be of great rich- 
ness, and the group of silver-mines known under the 
name of Minas de Tabanco, and where is found silver 
in common with galena and sulphurate of zinc. In 
times past these mines have been worked with very 

181 



182 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

little difficulty, and they have yielded from as little as 
47 to as much as 2,537 ounces to the ton. The most 
famous producer among these was the Santa Rosalia, 
and a great part of these ores were formerly shipped 
direct to England. Old archives of this concern show 
that in the year 1830 an attempt was made to work 
the mines on a large scale by an English company, 
which sent out a whole corps of Cornish miners for the 
purpose. The machinery which was despatched at the 
same time was so heavy, however, that it was found 
impossible to transport it from the coast, which diffi- 
culty, combined with others, entirely broke up the 
enterprise. Had the organizers of the company, as a 
preliminary, constructed a good cart-road, which was 
quite possible, and had then sent out the machinery in 
parts, which could have been packed separately on 
mule-back, as is done in Colombia and other mountain- 
ous countries, the undertaking might never have been 
a failure. 

That mining paid, and paid well, in Salvador in 
olden days is proved by the record which has been left 
by Mr. R. C. Dunlop, in his "Travels in Central 
America." This writer tells us that "five leagues 
north of San Miguel are a number of mines of silver ; 
among them is one called La Carolina, which was 
worked by a Spanish empresario about thirty years ago 
[Dunlop's book was published in 1847]. He invested 
his own property, borrowed $100,000 and, after getting 
his mine into order in less than six months, was able to 
pay his obligations ; and although he died before the 
end of the year, he left $70,000 in gold and silver, the 
produce of the mine. After his death the ownership 
was disputed, the works fell into ruins, and the mine 
became filled with water. The mines of Tabanco 



MINING 183 

yield more silver than those in its vicinity, and when 
worked yielded upwards of $1,000,000 annually, 
although operated in a rude manner without machinery. 
The principal one yielded $200,000 annually to the 
proprietors." 

I fear that the late Mr. Dunlop somewhat exag- 
gerated the value of these mines ; for while I was in 
the country, and in the particular district referred to 
by the author, no one seemed to have any recollection 
of any such values having ever been obtained. 

The same doubtful authority is responsible for the 
statement that "nine leagues from Santa Ana are some 
rich mines of iron which produce a purer and more 
malleable metal than any imported from Europe. The 
ore is found near the surface, and is very abundant, 
while there are extensive forests in the immediate 
vicinity which serve for making charcoal." Another 
authority on Salvador, long since gathered to his 
fathers — ^viz., John Baily, R.M. — who published a book 
upon Central America in 1850, assures us that some of 
this iron which was sent to England for the purpose of 
examination proved to be "a very valuable variety 
suitable for the manufacture of fine steel, approaching 
very nearly in this respect to the celebrated Wootz of 
India." 

The mineral veins of Salvador present themselves 
principally in the rocks of the mountain chain, or 
Cordillera, which extends into Honduras and Nicar- 
agua, and forms the richest mining districts of those 
countries. Generally speaking, the veins run parallel 
with the direction of the ranges — that is, from east to 
west — but they are often found to be very much broken 
and interrupted by the action of upheaval. In the 
eastern parts of the Republic, deposits of gold, silver, 



184 SALVADOR OF THE T^^TXTIETH CENTURY 

copper, and lead are found, while in the western are 
the rich iron-ore deposits. Coal is found in the valley 
of the Hiver Lempa. Although it is rather difficult to 
obtain full and accurate returns of all the mines in 
operation in Salvador to-day, roughly speaking they 
may be put at between ISO and 200. The table on 
p. 185, which has been compiled by the head of the 
Salvadorean Bui^eau of Statistics, and which shows the 
number of mines of each Department and the minerals 
which they possess, will be of some interest. 

The labour question is, however, one which must be 
carefully gone into ; but here again the local (State) 
Governuient could, and no doubt would, help the 
enterprise considerably, for so closely are the author- 
ities in touch with the people that they can at most 
times influence a good and continuous flow of peon 
labour when their assistance is invoked. General 
shortage of labour has been responsible for a great 
number of the mining returns not being satisfactory 
of late, especially in connection with the Butters' Sal- 
vador Mines, of which foller details are given. 

The Salvadorean peon, like his Peruvian brother, is a 
very tractable kind of labourer, and can be success- 
fully handled by kind treatment. He is, moreover, 
naturally free from that taint of dishonesty which so 
strongly distinguishes the Mexican and the Colombian 
peon, and which renders it impossible to leave anvthing 
of a portable nature in their way. The native labourer 
of Salvador is usually able to earn an easy livelihood 
by means of husbandry, and he takes to mining from 
choice rather than from necessity. This fact renders 
it all the more important that fair treatment should 
be extended to him, and upon most of the foreign- 
owned mines this is certainly the case. The late 



MINING 



185 



o 



o < 
o w 






w 

<1 



•l^^ox 




o 

00 

1-t 


■jaddoQ 

pUB IQA^Tg 


1 "^ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 


iri 


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o 


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||||00|(MO|||||I 


rH 


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1 00 1 1 1 1 tH 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 


05 


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CO 


•iiTX 


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T-\ 


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II II 1 1-^ II II 1 1 1 


r-< 


■^-B^JSifjO ^[oo'a 


1 1 1 II 1- 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 


rH 


•p'B9T; ptlB UTX 


1 tH 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 j 1 1 1 1 


tH 


•prarj 

pUB I9A|Ig 


i 1 1 1 1 1^ II i 1 1 1 1 


(M 


•UlTlsiiCf) 


-^ II 1 1 r 1 i i 1 ! 1 1 


<N 


•3Tio:^g 
gmpxmg 


'~'lli^lli|||||| ^ 


1 

1 

P 


San Salvador ... 
Santa Ana 
Ahuachapan 
La Libertad 
Sonsonate 
Cuscutlan 
Chalatenango . . . 

Cabanas 

San Vicente 
La Paz ... 
Usulutan 
Morazan... 
San Miguel 
La Union 

Total 



1S6 SAU'ADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

manager of the Butters' Salvador Mines, Mr. Grarth- 
waite, whose death occurred last year, was entirely 
st/mpatico to the men employed upon the mines, and 
his kindness to them and to their families was gener- 
ally acknowledged and deeply appreciated. 

That the industry of mining has considerably im- 
proved in Salvador during the past decade is sufficiently 
evidenced by the subjoined figures, which trace the 
industry in its progress from Januaiy, 1901, to the 
first half of the veai- 1910 : 



^riod covered. 


Total Amomit of Trade 
(U.S. Gold $). 


Tear 1901 


§183,760.00. 


„ 1902 


114,585.20. 


„ 1903 


814.733.88. 


„ 1904 


652.S54.33. 


„ 1905 


768.677.60. 


« 1906 


1.296.666.00. 


„ 1907 


1.2-2S;565.00. 


, 1906 


.. 1,318,-224.00. 


n 1909 


.. 1,116,717.00. 


„ 1910 (half- vear) ... 


560,570.00. 



These figures refer to all the am-iferous silver, copper 
ore, gold bars, gold and silver ore, lead ore, gold slimes, 
gold and copper slimes, gold and silver slimes, and lead, 
which had been mined in the country during the 
period mentioned. 

I should say that modest fortunes await the enter- 
prising capitalist — foreign for choice, since as a rule 
he is less easily discouraged by a run of temporary 
ill-luck — who exploits some of the aiitigufis — f.e., the 
ancient copper workings of the Salvadoreans which 
have been abandoned owing to lack of capital or 
labour. I know of many such opportunities which 
exist in the Department of Morazan, where already 
a considerable group of foreign companies and private 
individuals are working with occasionally remarkable 
success. "With the modem machinerv and reduction 



BUTTERS' SALVADOR MINES 187 

plant now available, certainly the greater part of these 
ancient workings might be made to pay something as 
a return upon the amount of capital expended upon 
them. To-day, also, there exists a first-class cart- 
road leading from these mines to the principal town, 
and thus transportation, which was formerly both 
costly and difficult, is now a matter of comparative 
facility. 

In some of the iron ore mines one can find the old 
and wasteful Catalan system of reduction still in use, 
and yet with proper treatment, as was sufficiently 
proved when a trial shipment of ores was sent to 
England some years ago, as much as 87 per cent, of 
magnetic iron can be obtained from these ores. And 
the quantity of ore which they contain is apparently 
inexhaustible. I know of but two or three small 
smelters at present existing in Salvador, and, natur- 
ally, the industry of copper-smelting carried on in this 
primitive and limited manner proves anything but 
profitable. I am of opinion that the Government 
would encourage any serious attempt upon the part 
of foreign capitalists to exploit the unquestionably 
rich copper deposits of the Departments of Chalate- 
nango and Cabanas, and such an enterprise might 
well be worth the attention of some British or United 
States mining capitalists. The latter are usually the 
more enterprising and plucky. 

About twelve years ago there was registered in 
London a mining property covering 546 acres in 
Salvador, comprising a number of gold-bearing proper- 
ties, with the title of Butters' Salvador Mines, Ltd., 
the principal owner being Mr. Charles Butters, a well- 
known American engineer, and who is the chairman of 
the company. From the very commencement of its 



188 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

operations, the company seems to have been eminently 
successful, and was able to distribute its first dividend 
in 1903, when 5 per cent, was paid. Since that 
date the dividends have varied from 40 to 80 per 
cent., that for 1910 being at the rate of 45 per cent., 
which compared with a similar rate for the previous 
year, but with an additional bonus of 23f per cent. On 
account of the present year, 15 per cent, has already 
been paid as an interim dividend, and, according to the 
recently-issued report, the ore reserves are now 
estimated to amount to 108,000 tons, and to carry a 
profit value of £400,000, or more than twice the value 
of the entire share capital. 

At the end of last May, dividend " No. 87 " of 3| per 
cent. ( = 9d. per share) was declared by the Board of 
Directors, who at the same time informed the share- 
holders that dividends will in the future be distributed 
quarterly instead of monthly, as has been customary in 
the past. 

The inherent wealth of these mines is clearly demon- 
strated when one recollects that, in spite of the able 
and experienced management that has been the rule, 
many difficulties have had to be encountered and. over- 
come, not the least of which has been the lack of 
labour, and, during the early part of last year, some 
serious trouble with the boilers at the mines. The 
consistently cautious policy which the directorate have 
adopted, notwithstanding the large dividends which 
they have been able to recommend, has resulted in 
their establishing the mines upon a thoroughly solid 
and business-like basis. It is worth remarking here 
that the whole of the existing plant and equipment, 
which are as complete and efficient as any to be found 
upon the American Continent, have been paid for out 




I. View of Butters' Divisadero Mines, Department of Morazan, 

Salvador. 



^m^^ Poses' *^'^*^' 



2. Butters' Salvador Mines, Santa Rosa, Dep/kimknt of I a Unk'n, 

Salvador. 



BUTTERS' SALVADOR MINES 189 

of revenue, and they stand in the books of the company 
at the present time at the ridiculously low price of 
£2,000. 

The principal work which the management has in 
hand at the present time is cross-cutting the formation, 
with the object of finding split or parallel veins, and 
the discovery of such split veins has naturally much 
improved the position of the company. The whole 
policy of the management will now be devoted, for 
some years to come, to proving the mines in depth, and 
such, indeed, would have been undertaken before now 
but for the troubles to which I have above referred in 
regard to labour. The ore indications, which have so 
far been met with, are of a distinctly favourable nature, 
the most encouraging, perhaps, being the cutting of the 
famous Miguel ore-shoot at the 700 feet level. The 
width of this vein exceeds 3 feet, and it assays over 
6 ounces. The Miguel shaft is now down nearly 
800 feet, but the deepest working from which the ore 
has been stoped is the 600 feet level ; the shaft will 
therefore give 200 feet of backs below the present 
workings. 

At present between 25,000 and 30,000 tons of ore 
are being crushed annually, which yield on the average 
a value of 1 ounce 7 pennyweights. The working 
expenses have never been particularly high, owing 
greatly to the excellence of management and the 
economy of the reduction plant, which bears the name 
of the chairman of the company — viz., the Butters' 
Cyanide Process — but there are nevertheless hopes 
that these costs will be still further reduced in the 
near future. There is no question that the Butters' 
Salvador Mines rank among the most valuable ore 
deposits to be found in Central America, and it is no 



190 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

less sure that they are being managed in the most 
expert and most economical manner. 

As to the financial situation of the company, the 
balance-sheet proves that the cash in hand on June 30, 
1910, in Salvador, London, and San Francisco, amounted 
to £5,001, and that on the same date the stores in 
hand and in transit were valued at £32,228 ; sundry 
debtors in Salvador and London amounted to £812, 
and per contra the amount owing to sundry creditors 
was £3,642. The profit and loss account showed a 
net profit for the period of £62,645 ; while the amount 
brought forward from the previous account, and which 
amounted to £19,042, being added to the net profit, 
showed a total available distributable balance of 
£81,677. The dividends which have been paid for 
the twelve months aggregated, as already mentioned, 
45 per cent, upon the capital of the company, and 
which absorbed £67,500, thus leaving a carry-forward 
of £14,177. 

It is worthy of mention that in the directors' report 
for the period ending June 30, 1910, a graceful tribute 
is paid to "the continued consideration which the 
Government of Salvador has extended to the com- 
pany," and which testimony goes to prove what I 
have already indicated — viz., that the Government is 
anxious and wilHng to encourage in every legitimate 
manner sound foreign enterprise ; but I go further, and 
say that I know of no other Latin- American Bepublic 
which has shown greater good-wiU to all foreign enter- 
prise in all its phases than that of Salvador. 

It is over seven years since the Butters' filter was 
introduced in connection with mining, and the process 
may now be met with in all parts of the world, and 
especially in Mexico, where I have seen it working 



BUTTERS' FILTER 191 

with excellent advantage upon the famous Dos Estrellas 
gold-mine at El Oro, as well as in Brazil and in other 
South American countries. 

The need of a filter of some sort was first forcibly 
presented to the mind of Mr. Charles Butters and his 
associates at their works in Virginia City, Nevada, 
U.S.A. The tailing being cyanided there was origin- 
ally derived from the Comstock Mills, but it had been 
treated and retreated several times by the Pan- Amal- 
gamation process ; as it stands to-day in the dams, it 
contains about 75 per cent, of material that is leachable, 
and which may be designated as " slime." The slime 
is of an exceptional character. In addition to the diffi- 
culties connected with the solution of gold and silver 
contents, the mechanical condition was such that it 
gave trouble in settlement for decantation. The clari- 
fication produced by a coagulant such as lime was 
perfect, but the subsidence was so slow that the 
amount of solution recoverable in this way was not 
sufficient to make the decantation process a practical 
success. It was proved, in fact, that coagulation was 
not necessarily accompanied by good settlement. 

After experimenting with several forms of vacuum 
filter units, both cylindrical and rectangular, there was 
evolved a form of filter which is the recognized present 
standard, and the preliminary plant of 336 leaves, 
which was erected at Goldfield seven years ago, is 
still in full operation to-day. As the filtration process 
is found working at the Salvador mines and in other 
parts of the world, the filter-leaf is made on a frame, 
the upper side of which is formed on wood, and acts 
as a suspending bar when the leaf is in position in 
the filter- box. The remaining three sides are made 
of J-inch pipe, perforated with holes and connecting 



192 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

to the vacuum pump. The filtering medium consists 
firstly of a porous mat of such size as to exactly fill 
the space formed by the pipe frame, and upon either 
side of this is placed a sheet of canvas, large enough 
to overlap the frame, around which it is securely sewn. 
The first containing-box which was used at Virginia 
City was an electrolytic precipitation-box, which was 
not needed for its special purpose, and was adopted 
for the use of the new filter. An air-compressor was 
converted into a vacuum pump, and with this equip- 
ment the vacuum filter of to-day came into existence. 

From the beginning it proved a marked success, and 
the next step in its perfection was the designing of the 
large Goldfield plant to handle 800 tons of dry slime 
per diem. When designing the containing-box for the 
special purpose of the filter, the lines of the original box 
were slightly departed from as regards the shape of the 
hoppers, these being given sixty sides to facilitate the 
better discharge of the cake, and a quick opening valve 
of large area was placed at the apex of each hopper. 
Instead of a dry vacuum pump and gravity drainage, a 
wet vacuum pump was used, permitting the solution 
pump to be placed above the filter. 

The cycle of operation is as follows : (1) Filling the 
box with pulp ; (2) the formation of a cake on each 
side of the vacuum leaves by suction ; (3) emptying 
the box of pulp and filling with weak solution ; 
(4) drawing through the cake sufficient solution to 
displace all soluble values; (5) emptying the box of 
solution and filling with water ; (6) drawing through 
the cake a small quantity of clean water to displace 
any solution held in the cake ; (7) shutting off the 
vacuum and admitting water through the leaf connec- 
tion, thereby throwing off the cake, which falls to the 



BUTTERS' FILTER 193 

bottom of the box, and cleansing the canvas in pre- 
paration for the next charge ; (8) opening the valve in 
hopper bottom of box, and allowing the residues to 
escape to the waste dam ; (9) closing the valve, thus 
rendering the filter ready for the next charge of pulp. 

It is a very unusual thing to find in the newer 
mining companies of Central America such up-to-date 
machinery and mining processes as are in use in the 
Eepublic of Salvador at the Butters' Salvador and the 
Divisadero Mines. The Government of Salvador has 
to be congratulated upon the wisdom it has shown in 
extending consideration to companies engaged in the 
development of its mines, and to practical men of the 
type of Mr. Charles Butters and his associates, to 
induce them to devote their money and their brains to 
the development of Salvador. The most modern pro- 
cesses and the most up-to-date machinery can be here 
found at work, and the Government is permitted, by the 
terms of the franchise which they have granted to the 
companies, to send Government students to attend at 
these works to complete their studies in mining and 
metallurgy. Among the processes at Butters' Salvador 
Mines are dry-crushing and roasting, electrolytic pre- 
cipitation as well as electrolytic refining. The cyanide 
process with the Butters' Patent Vacuum Filter is found 
here treating gold ore without amalgamation, and 
making extraction of from 95 to 96 per cent. The 
mining at this property has been by adits princi- 
pally. Electrical winding plants and electrical pump- 
ing plants are now installed at this property. Both at 
the mine and at the mill a high efficiency of working 
has been attained for many years. 

At the Butters' Divisadero Mines, located twelve 
miles distant from the Butters' Salvador Mines, a 

13 



194 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

much larger quantity of ore, but of a lower grade 
than at the Salvador Mine, is treated, about 10,000 
tons a month being handled on this property. The 
Government student has here the privilege of seeing 
ore, of about $5 a ton, mined and milled. A large 
electric plant is established, by means of which all the 
hoisting and pumping are carried on. A large quantity 
of water is encountered at this mine, and where 
formerly it was found impossible to handle the water 
by the use of Cornish pumps, it is now kept under 
control by means of the Sulzer electrically-driven 
centrifugal pump. Two sinking pumps, of a capacity 
of 600 gallons per minute each, have been installed, 
which are suspended from the surface, and are calcu- 
lated to operate down to 600 feet in depth. These 
pumps lift 300 feet to the 300 feet level, and deliver 
to horizontal station-pumps erected at this level. The 
most modern electric-generating plant, hoisting, pump- 
ing, and ore-compressing plants, are at work upon this 
property. The mill is of the best-class construction, 
with a capacity of crushing between 8 and 9 tons 
per stamp, with tube-mills. Butters' Patent Vacuum 
Filter, and special methods of precipitation. 

At both of these mines complete shops are estab- 
lished, including iron-foundry and wood -working 
machinery. The shops are competent to deal with 
the heaviest repair jobs on the machinery in use, and 
as many spares as are found economical to manufac- 
ture, so that a large staff of mechanics are kept busy 
in the shops. 

In a new country like Salvador, it is absolutely 
essential, for the establishing of the mining industry 
upon a firm footing, that a large force of natives 
should be educated in the repair and manufacture of 



SALVADOREAN MECHANICS 195 

the machinery and extra parts in use at the mines. 
There are native Salvadoreans who have been educated 
in these shops, and they have become highly competent 
mechanics, able to cope with almost any difficulty 
occurring at the mines. The result of this education 
will be that less and less foreign help will be required 
to carry on the business in Salvador. 

Anyone living in Salvador who desires to know of the 
"latest thing " in mining and metallurgy is permitted, 
through the arrangements which the Salvadorean 
Government has made with Mr. Charles Butters, to 
take up any course of study he may desire. 



CHAPTER XV 

Transportation — Salvador Railway Company — Early construction- 
Gauge — Bridges — Locomotives — Eolling-stock — Personnel of railway 
— Steamship service — Extensions — Increasing popularity — Exchange, 
and influence on railway success — Importers versus planters — 
Financial conditions — Projected extensions — Geological survey — 
Mr. Minor G. Keith's Salvador concession. 

The means of internal communication are perhaps 
more apparent and more systematically undertaken 
than in any of the smaller States, Salvador possessing 
at present over 100 miles of railway track and a 
number of excellent roads and bridges, which are 
being added to and improved continually. The only 
organized railway system at present is in the hands 
of a British company, the Salvador Railway Company, 
Ltd, and its relations with both the Government and 
the public are of the best. 

The concession granted to the company was dated 
1885, but it was four years later when a public issue 
was made — namely, in October, 1889. The conces- 
sion is for a period of eighty years, dating from April, 
1894 ; at the expiration of the period the railway and 
all its accessories become the property of the Salva- 
dorean Government. In the meantime, however, it is 
open to the Government to buy up the existing railway 
in 1940 if it so desires, at a price to be agreed upon or 
fixed by valuation. The railway company enjoys 
protection from competition, and has also preferential 

196 



SALVADOR RAILWAY COMPANY 197 

privileges (except as against the State) for constructing 
future extensions. 

The road actually dates from the year 1882, when 
the first section, from the port of Acajutla to the town 
of Sonsonate, one of the most important in the Republic, 
\ and situated at about fifty miles' distance from the 
capital, was opened for trafiic. The distance was 
20 kilometres, or, say, 12 J miles, the next section to 
I be finished being that from Sonsonate to Armenia, 
I a further distance of 26^ kilometres, or 16 J miles, 
I thus bringing up the constructed line to 46^ kilo- 
metres by the end of September, 1884. 

From then onwards the rate of construction was as 
follows : From Armenia to Amate Marin, 6j kilo- 
metres, or 4 miles, opened for traffic September, 
1886 ; from Amate Marin to Ateos, 3 J kilometres, or 
1 2 miles, January, 1887 ; from Ateos to La Ceiba, and 
I which forms a branch ending at this town, a distance 
jof 10 kilometres, or 6 J miles, March, 1890 ; from 
Ateos to La Joy a, a distance of 22 kilometres, or 
134 miles, opened to traffic on September 15, 1895 ; 
and from La Joya to Santa Ana — a very important 
town of some 33,000 inhabitants — a distance of 29 
kilometres, or 18 miles, opened in November, 1896. 

From Santa Ana, which is another terminal point, 
I the railway receives a valuable freight in the form of 
agricultural produce, such as coffee, sugar, tobacco, 
j and various kinds of grain. 

j A continuation of the line was then made to the 
' capital, San Salvador, the extension from Sit io- del- 
Nino to Nejapa, one of 18 kilometres, or, say, 11 miles, 
being opened for traffic in February, 1898 ; while the 
last section, between Nejapa and San Salvador, a 
' distance of 20 kilometres, or 12:| miles, was completed 



198 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



by the month of March, 1900. The total distance of 
the track is, therefore, 155 kilometres, or 96 J miles, 
exclusive of sidings. There are some eighteen stations, 
including the terminals at Acajutla, Santa Ana, and 
San Salvador ; while the buildings, both here and at 
Sonsonate, Sitio-del-Nino, and Quezaltepeque, are well 
built and efficient structures in every way. 

The gauge of the track is 3 feet, and the maximum 
gradient one of 3*75 per cent. The minimum curve 
radius is 359 feet 3 inches. The interesting engineer- 
ing features of the line are many, and these are found 
for the most part upon the Santa Ana section, between 
that town and Sitio-del-Nino. There are forty-one 
bridges, consisting of through-truss, plate-girder, and 
rolled "I" beams. These run from 20 to 14 feet 
span, the makers who have supplied them including 
German, Belgian, British, and American contractors. 
The principal bridges are as follows : 







Span. 


Made by — 


At Kilometre 78-700 


Deck-plate gir- 


56 ft. 


Aug. Lecoq, Hal, Bel- 






der bridge 




gium. 


)) 


82-600 


Through - span 
girder bridge 


78 ft. 


Harkort, Duisberg, Ger- 
many. 


)j 


98-500 


» >) 


70 ft. 


San Francisco Bridge 
Company. 


>9 


188-700 


Through - deck 
girder bridge 


140 ft. 


Atliers de Construction, 
A. Lecoq, Hal, Bel- 
gium. 


l> 


191-700 


5> i> 


140 ft. 


>) 9) 



There are a number of culverts, over sixty-six being 
of some importance, besides several of minor interest, 
of 3 feet and under. The road is exceedingly well 
ballasted from beginning to end, and is maintained 
in an altogether efficient manner of repair and 
orderliness. 




bi 



u 



o ^ 



^ 



ROLLING-STOCK 



199 



In regard to the rolling-stock, this is equally well 
equipped and maintained, the greatest care being 
taken by the management to see that every car that 
is sent out is in a thoroughly sound state of repair and 
cleanliness. There are in all eleven locomotives, of 
which the following details will be of interest : 







Cylinder. 


Driving 
Wheels. 


Weight. 


No. 


ATflTrPva 












lTX£ll\.Cli3i 


Diameter. 


Stroke. 


Pairs. 


Inches. 


Tons. 


1 


Prescott, Scott and Co., 
San Francisco 


12 in. 


16 in. 


2 


38 


17-50 


2 


Baldwin Locomotive 
Works, Philadelphia 


15 in. 


20 in. 


4 


38 


25-00 


3 


» >> 


15 in. 


20 in. 


4 


38 


25-00 


4 


j» >> 


15 in. 


20 in. 


4 


38 


25-00 


5 


Cooke, Patterson and 
Co., New Jersey 


16 in. 


20 in. 


4 


38 


30-35 


6 


Baldwin Locomotive 
Works, Philadelphia 


17 in. 


20 in. 


3 


42 


36-74 


7 


>) 5) 


17 in. 


20 in. 


3 


42 


36-74 


8 


„ » 


17 in. 


20 in. 


3 


42 


36-74 


9 


>» '> 


16 in. 


20 in. 


3 


42 


32-40 


10 


5> " 


16 in. 


20 in. 


3 


42 


32-40 


11 


)) >) 


16 in. 


20 in. 


3 


42 


32-40 



In addition to the above, two other engines of 
precisely similar make have lately been delivered to 
the Company by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, 
Philadelphia, U.S.A. It is explained that the native 
engine-drivers are now accustomed to these engines, 
which are to be found in use upon almost the whole of 
the South and Central American railways. 

The rolling-stock on the Salvador Kailway is main- 
tained in the same efficient order as are the stations 
and permanent way. It consists of some twenty- three 
passenger coaches as follows : Eight of first class, light 
but strong carriages, suitable for a tropical country 
and fitted with wide seats upholstered in rattan ; one 



200 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

second class, only a trifle less expensively upholstered, 
but in no wise less airy or comfortable ; and four brake 
and luggage vans. Of goods- waggons there are 161 — 
namely, 1 workmen's car, 5 cattle cars, 95 covered- 
goods and 60 platform cars. These cars are mostly 
the manufacture of the Lancaster Carriage and Waggon 
Company, Ltd., of Lancaster, and the Allison Manufac- 
turing Company, of Philadelphia, U.S.A. The company 
have recently erected some ten box waggons at the well- 
fitted railway shops at Sonsonate, where every appliance 
and the newest equipment of machinery are to be found. 
The passenger coaches are also partly of British and 
partly of American construction, the Lancaster Carriage 
and Waggon Company, Ltd., and the Harlan, HoUings- 
worth Company, of Philadelphia, being responsible for 
this part of the equipment. 

In the month of April last a change took place in 
the general management of the Salvador Railway, 
when Mr. C. T. S. Spencer, the newly-appointed chief, 
proceeding to his post via Mexico City and Salina Cruz. 
Mr. Spencer served his pupilage with the London and 
South-Western Railway, mainly on the North Devon 
and Cornish branches. When out of his articles, he 
accepted an appointment as District Engineer on the 
Abbotsbury Railway, near Dorset, which line is now a 
part of the Great Western Railway system. In 1886 
Mr. Spencer went out to Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), as 
District Engineer on the Brazil Great Southern Rail- 
way, and subsequently rose to the position of Chief 
Constructing Engineer. On this line he built the 
Ibicuy Bridge, which still ranks as the largest bridge 
in Brazil, being over a mile long, with some 70-metre 
spans resting on cylinders sunk by the pneumatic 
process, which at that time was in its infancy. 



PERSONNEL OF RAILWAY 201 

When the line was completed, Mr. Spencer surveyed 
an extension running into some hundreds of kilo- 
metres, and passing through the beautiful district of 
Missiones. 

Mr. Spencer, still a young man, then went to 
Salvador, and in 1889 he surveyed the La Uni6n-San 
Miguel line. This railway was partly constructed by 
the Government, and its completion to San Miguel is 
now being pushed forward. In 1892 Mr. Spencer 
went to Colombia as General Manager of the Antioquia 
Railway, which commission he held until the Govern- 
ment attempted to cancel the concession without pay- 
ing any idemnity to the company. He afterwards 
went to Angola, and drew up the plans for a large rail- 
way scheme from the coast inwards ; a part of this line 
has since been built. 

Upon returning to London, Mr. Spencer accepted the 
post of Consulting Engineer to a railway-constructing 
syndicate in the City, and a few years ago he was 
elected to a seat on the Board of the Salvador Railway. 
Mr. Spencer visited the Republic in 1908, and on his 
return pointed out to the Chairman that, owing to the 
opening of the Tehuantepec Railway, a special steamer 
service connecting up Acajutla with Salina Cruz would 
probably prove a paying concern. Mr. Mark J. Kelly, 
the able and experienced Chairman of this railway, with 
his customary quickness of perception, combined with 
his own not inconsiderable experience of the Republic 
of Salvador, of which for fifteen years he had acted as 
Consul-General in England, at once fell in with the 
idea, and the steamship Salvador was the result. 

Mr. Spencer is an Associate Member of the Institute 
of Civil Engineers, and a Fellow of the Royal Geo- 
graphical Society. While it is a subject of regret that 



202 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Mr. Charles Stewart, late Manager of the Salvador 
Railway, was compelled to abandon his post owing to 
ill-health, the shareholders of the railway may be un- 
reservedly congratulated upon obtaining the services of 
so able and experienced an engineer as Mr. Spencer. 

Mr. John White Hinds, Chief Enmneer of the 
Salvador Railway Company, started in his profession at 
the age of fifteen, and was for over a year in the shops 
of the Great Western Railway at Swindon. He then 
remained for four years as a pupil with IVIr. W. H. 
Lancashii^e, C.E., of Sheffield. Three years were 
passed in London studying, when Mr. Hinds went to 
America, and entered the shops of the Chicago and 
North- Western Railroad. He has also seen service in 
Chile, Peru, Guatemala and Salvador. In this latter 
Republic, Mr. Hinds has acted as chief of the party of 
engineers on final survej^s of the Santa Ana branch of 
the Salvador Railway, while he also went to La Union, 
the largest of the Salvadorean ports, to construct the 
railway from La Union to San Miguel for the Salvador 
Government. The line was only constructed to the 
extent of ten miles or so, when a revolution broke out 
and the work was abandoned. Since then — namely, in 
1894 — Mr. Hinds has been engaged upon the Guate- 
mala Northern Railway as Surveyor, and helped in the 
construction of that portion of the line to the City. 
Mr. Hinds likewise completed surveys to the town of 
Zacapa, on the same railway, and assisted in the con- 
struction work between Puerto Barrios and Zacapa. 
Latterly Mr. Hinds has been exclusively engaged upon 
the Salvador Railway, of which he has been the 
Resident Engineer since 1903, and Permanent Way 
Engineer since 1906. 

One of the contractors who were connected with the 



I 



PERSONNEL OF RAILWAY 203 

railway in the early days was Mr. Albert J. Scherzer, 
and it is interesting to note that his nephew, Mr. George 
Scherzer Walsh, a young and clever railway engineer, 
was also connected with the company. Mr. Walsh 
accompanied Mr. M. J. Kelly and Mr. George Todd 
Symons (the senior partner of G. T. Symons and Co., 
of 4, Lloyd's Avenue, E.G.) to Salvador in the spring 
of 1910, upon matters relating to the extension of the 
company's track and the appointment of agents for the 
steamship service. Mr. Walsh did some good and use- 
ful work as technical adviser on the ground, but, unfor- 
tunately, in the end his services proved unfruitful, 
owing to the selfish and senseless opposition offered to 
the company's contemplated extensions upon the part 
of the American Syndicate, who hold a railway con- 
cession from the Salvadorean Government to build new 
lines within this zone. At the time that the American 
group protested — and protested, as it seems, success- 
fully — against any further construction work being 
undertaken by the Salvador Railway Company, they 
had done absolutely nothing themselves, and had 
not even presented the preliminary plans to the 
Government. As will be seen, however, they have 
at last made an attempt to commence work of some 
kind ; but my latest advices point to the fact that suc- 
cessful completion is still far from being even within 
sight. 

The property owned by the Salvador Railway Com- 
pany, as has been shown above, is an extensive and 
increasingly valuable one. It embraces something like 
100 miles of track, with its own telegraph and 
telephone services ; a long and well-built iron pier, 
located at the Port of Acajutla, and which cost no less 
than $1,000,000 to erect ; as well as warehouses and 



204 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

a fleet of tugs and barges for the prompt and efficient 
handling^ of the cai'gfo. 

Upon all sides one hears the services rendered by 
this company spoken of in a manner altogether flatter- 
ing to the management ; and it may be said in truth 
that in no other EepubHc of South or Central America 
can one come across a wider consensus of opinion 
favoui'able to a foreign-managed railway undertaking 
than in the case of the Salvador Eailway. 

To the not inconsiderable assets above mentioned, 
the railway has added a fleet of steamships to carry 
cargo between Acajutla, its own port terminal, and 
Salina Cruz (Mexico), the Pacific terminus of the 
Tehuantepec Interoceanic Railway. It is worthy 
of note that both of these railways are managed by 
British corporations, a matter of no small importance 
in view of the strenuous efibrts of North American 
interests to secure complete control over the transport 
arrangements in this part of the world. 

The Salvador Railway's first steamer, the Salvador^ 
is a neat, trim, and well-built vessel of some 1,200 
tons, out of the yards of Messrs. Swan and Hunter, of 
Newcastle-on-Tyne. It is fully equipped with all the 
latest appliances for the quick and efficient handling 
of cargo, while its passenger accommodation is of a 
commodious and comfortable character. This hand- 
some vessel has for some time been firmly established 
as a favourite with the importers and exporters of the 
Republic of Salvador, who now, for the first time in 
their experience, are enjoying the advantages of rapid 
and reliable communication with Europe and the 
United States of America, with ptmctuality in regard 
to dates of arrival and departure each week. As a 
matter of fact, this seiwice now effects in about two 



STEAMSHIP SERVICE S05 

weeks what could not be previously done in less than 
one month. The appreciation by the public of these 
advantages is sufficiently displayed in the circumstance 
that the s.s. Salvador carries something like three- 
fourths of the imports and exports of the country, to 
the great disappointment, and even dismay, of the older 
lines. Other similar vessels are being built for the 
Company by Messrs. Swan and Hunter. 

The company has in view the rendering the same 
services to the other Salvadorean ports as that now 
offered to Acajutla and the Mexican port of Salina 
Cruz. An important local trade between Mexico and 
Salvador, to the mutual advantages of both, is now 
being built up, thanks to the initiative of the Salvador 
Railway Company in establishing this steamship 
service. 

How successful the company's fleet has proved is 
best seen from some observations which were made by 
the Chairman at the last annual meeting of the pro- 
prietors, December 13, 1910, and in which he stated, 
inter alia : 

" It is a matter of great satisfaction to me and to my co- 
directors to be able to assure you that we have not only 
emerged, in respect to this service, out of the experimental 
stage, but we have actually become a fairly settled institution 
as a steamship line on that coast. Instead of one boat, with 
which last year we gave such a service to Salvador by the 
port of Acajutla as they had never had before, carried out 
with a regularity and strict adherence to schedule to which 
they were utterly unaccustomed, your company is represented 
to-day by three steamers, and is making the service from 
Salina Cruz clear down to Nicaragua, embracing all the ports 
of Gruatemala, Salvador, Amapala, the only Honduranean port 
on the Pacific, and Corinto. In barely a year we have found 
ample reason for increasing our service to three vessels, two 



206 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

of which are chartered boats, while we may be able to put in 
hand the building of a second boat of the same type as our 
first. This satisfactory result has only been attained by 
untiring effort; but we have reason to believe that your 
steamship service has arrived to stay, and that it will be 
represented by a substantial figure in the earnings in the 
future. The service has won deserved popularity by reason 
of its being carried out, as I have told you, with adherence to 
a schedule, and we now frequently receive in London applica- 
tions from Central Americans travelling about Europe with 
their families to reserve cabins for them on our steamer 
Salvador. Mails are now sent by this service of ours in con- 
nection with the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and reach Europe 
in about sixteen days instead of a month ; while the planters 
get their produce to European markets in little over thirty 
days, against forty to fifty by way of Panama, and over one 
hundred by way of the Straits of Magellan. The passenger 
traffic on the Salvador, which we were all disposed to regard 
as something that might take a considerable time to develop, 
has already given results which you will understand better 
when I tell you that generally the accommodation provided 
for passengers on the Salvador is fully taken up. During my 
stay in Salvador I took advantage of the appreciation thus 
shown by the public of our steamship venture to arrange with 
the Government a contract for a subsidy, and we are now 
receiving £100 per month in gold on this head. I had the 
honour of being received by His Excellency President Diaz on 
several occasions during my stay in Mexico, both going out 
and returning home, and he promised favourable consideration 
by his Government of an application, which we have since 
formally put in, for a subsidy from that Republic, which is 
benefiting as much as Salvador from the development of your 
steamship service." 

With such prospects the Salvador Railway seems 
destined to enjoy a time of great prosperity ; and, 
indeed, the outlook would be practically undimmed 
but for the ever-threatening question of the exchange. 




Deck Bridge on Salvador Railway. 




Station Building at Santa Ana on the Salvador Raii.wav 



EXCHANGE 207 

The high rate of sterling exchange constitutes a 
very real and visible '' fly in the ointment." Salvador, 
it may be pointed out, has the advantages of a metallic 
currency, with no fiscal paper money of any sort ; but, 
unfortunately, it is a silver currency, which is aggra- 
vated by the circumstance that the export of silver, if 
not actually prohibited by legislation, is at all events 
very diflScult to bring about, inasmuch as official per- 
mission is required, and is as often refused. 

On the other hand, the banks are overstocked with 
silver, and are willing to lend sums at what may, for 
these parts of the world, be considered very low rates 
of interest — namely, 5 per cent, per annum — which 
enables people, who would otherwise be compelled to 
sell drafts against their exported produce, to hold 
them back, and, by a simple understanding among 
themselves, keep the rates as near to 200 per cent, 
premium as may suit their own interests. 

The Salvador Railway Company, which has a silver 
tariff pure and simple, has to buy sterling drafts, 
whatever the rate may be, in order to meet debenture 
interest payments, the cost and freight upon all im- 
ported materials for its various services, insurance upon 
its properties, its London expenses — including directors' 
remuneration — and towards this large expenditure the 
only sterling contribution of the country is the Govern- 
mental subsidy of £24,000 per annum, which payment 
will terminate automatically in 1916. 

In sending out their Chairman, Mr. Mark J. Kelly, 
therefore, in 1910, to endeavour to reduce the com- 
pany's burden in this respect, the Board of Directors 
undoubtedly made a wise move, inasmuch as no one 
could possibly be better placed, by reason of his great 
popularity and exceptional experience, than Mr. Kelly 



208 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

to conduct such delicate and intricate negotiations. 
In spite of such influence and personal weight, however, 
I am much afraid that the time is hardly yet when 
any serious modification of the terms of the company's 
concession — such as the granting of a tariif payable in 
gold — may be looked for. 

At a time when gold is in the neighbourhood of 
200 per cent, premium {i.e., 1 silver dollar equals 
33 cents gold) this would mean an increase in the 
tariff rates, and the Government can hardly be ex- 
pected to authorize that increase in the present cir- 
cumstances. As a matter of fact, the company's tariff 
is much below that of any railway undertaking in the 
whole of Latin- America, of which I, at least, have any 
cognizance. But the public are hardly likely on that 
account to be any more disposed to fall in with an 
increase in the railway's rates. 

The outlook for the Salvador Railway generally is, 
as observed, a hopeful one. It is admitted by all who 
are acquainted with its operations that its advent and 
completion have materially aided the development of 
the Republic's resources, and day by day the expansion 
of its industries is becoming more apparent. The local 
traffics, showing as they do gradual but consistent 
development, are the outcome of the safe but conser- 
vative policy of the management, whose relations, as 
I have already observed, with the railway's clientele 
are of the most friendly character. If the agricultural 
development of the portions of the country served by 
the railway have been somewhat slow, the movements 
have, at least, been consistent ; and there can be little 
doubt that an intelligent expansion of the Republic's 
magnificent possibilities is merely a question of time. 
No permanent improvement must be expected, how- 



EXCHANGE AND TRADE 209 

ever, to assert itself until the difficulties of exchange 
have been overcome. While poor trade may have 
somewhat aifected the returns of the last two years, 
the rate of exchange has been responsible for the 
greater part of the financial disappointment. Possibly 
the poor trade is the cause of the exchange being so 
high, as much as the exchange being the cause of the 
poverty of trade. So far as the railway is concerned, 
the effect is certainly twofold — directly, by reason of 
the loss upon remittances to the head-office in London ; 
and indirectly, on account of the prejudicial influence 
upon trade. 

There is a very general and perfectly comprehensible 
complaint that, in spite of the better crops which have 
been garnered this and last year, and the abundance 
of silver currency, actual sales of merchantable goods 
have been less, on account of the high rate of exchange 
compelling the sellers to continually mark-up their 
wares. One result of this is that the merchants have 
ordered fewer goods, and the railway has carried less 
freight. 

Unfortunately, in Salvador — as in other parts of 
the world, our own not excepted — there are several 
divergent opinions upon this question of economics, 
and here one comes across as many individuals who 
are in favour of a high exchange as those who decry 
it. The planters, for instance, hold that the high ex- 
changes constitute a clear and legitimate bonus upon 
the value of the coffee, the indigo, the balsam, and the 
other articles of export ; while the importers clamour 
loudly, and perhaps with some more reason on their 
side, that the high exchanges, if, indeed, they are really 
of any benefit at all to the planters, form no less a tax, 
and a very heavy one at that, upon the goods con- 

14 



210 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

sumed by the general public. Still worse, however, 
they act as a deterrent to active trade and commerce, 
since all goods sold must be marked-up at higher prices 
than are customary, with the very natural result of a 
smaller consumption. Thus, the public are disap- 
pointed, the merchants are grumbling, the revenue of 
the countrv in its Customs -houses suffers, and the 
railway and its shareholders are left lamenting — all 
because the planters must be humoured. 

This contention miofht also contain a little more force 
were wag^es to advance in the same ratio as the rate of 
exchange. But this is far from being the case, for no 
advance in wages has followed upon the increased 
premium upon drafts on London ; while bankers of 
Salvador, on the other hand, declare that they derive 
no profits on balance fr^om their exchange account. 
More often than not, so they say, they suffer a loss, 
since the fluctuations in the rates are so eccentric and 
so difiicult to control that they are particularly favoured 
when they succeed in covering the cheques or short- 
dated drafts, which they issue on Europe by purchases 
of ninety days' drafts from the planters, without 
actually incurring a loss. 

The rate of exchange in Salvador to-day is a very 
high one — nothing like that of Colombia, it is true, 
but at time of writing gold is at 160 per cent, premium. 
Here, however, it must be remembered there is no 
official currency of paper whatever, the banks which 
issue notes being subject to rigorous inspection and 
compelled to maintain silver coin to an extent which 
reduces their issues of notes to a mere matter of public 
convenience, rather than a source of profit to the banks 
themselves. All this is of great moment to the wel- 
fare and the future of the Salvador Railway, and has 
more than once been explained at length by the capable 



SALVADOR RAILWAY 211 

and experienced Chairman, Mr. Mark J. Kelly, at the 
meetings of the shareholders held in London. 

The financial condition of the Salvador Railway is 
to-day a steadily improving one. We see that for the 
last year (1909-10) the gross receipts were better by 
£6,921 ; while the ratioofexpenseswas also satisfactory, 
namely, 51 '81 as against 54*68, a decrease of 2' 8 7 per 
cent. Improved good- traffics were also met with, and 
worked out at Is. Id. a ton in excess of previous 
figures. After providing interest and redemption 
upon both classes of Debentures, and interest at 5 per 
cent, per annum upon the Terminable Notes, the 
amount available for distribution amounted to 
£8,565 13s. 9d., out of which was made a payment 
of 3 per cent, upon the Preference shares for the 
year, leaving a balance of £1,065 13s. 9d., carried 
forward to the credit of Net Revenue Account. Prior 
Lien Debentures amounting to £3,600, and Mortgage 
Debentures to another £9,000, have also been redeemed 
this year, making the total redemption £62,200 to date 
of the accounts. 

In June of next year (1912) the Terminable Notes, 
amounting to £45,000, will be either paid ofiP or con- 
verted into Debentures probably bearing 5 per cent, 
interest. The exact financial position of the company 
stands as follows : 

Authorized Share Capital : 

Preference shares, ^250,000 (in jGIO shares). 

Ordinary shares, ^6250,000 (in JEIO shares). 
Of these, the whole amount has been issued, viz. ^£500,000 

Debentures : 

Authorized (5 per cent. Prior Lien) ... ... ^250,000 

(5 per cent. Mortgage) ... ... 660,000 

^910,000 

Out of which a balance still remained unpaid off ... 847,800 

Five per Cent. Terminable Notes Authorized and 

including cost of issue ... ... ••• 45,000 

Thus the company has a total liability outstanding of ^£1,392,800 



212 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Few of the States in Central America offer greater 
opportunities or inducements for railway extensions 
than Salvador, and this in spite of the fact that the 
country is generally mountainous, and is more than 
well supplied with rivers, most of which for railway 
purposes have to be bridged. It must be remembered, 
however, that Salvador is the most densely populated 
of all the Central American Republics ; the country 
has therefore been very carefully surveyed, with the 
idea of railway extension upon a considerable scale. 

In the year 1891 the United States Government 
despatched an Intercontinental Railway Commission 
to make surveys and explorations, not only in Salvador, 
but in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa 
Rica. The result of such enterprise has been the 
publication of a voluminous Report, which was issued 
in 1898, five years after the Commission's return to 
the United States. The Report is altogether favour- 
able for railway extension in Salvador, and it speaks 
very highly of the enterprise of the Salvador Railway 
Company, of which a description will be found in the 
preceding pages. Previous to the despatch of the 
American Commission, the Salvador Government had 
had a survey of the eastern portion of the country 
made by Mr. Charles T. Spencer, an English en- 
gineer of great experience, and who is now General 
Manager of the Salvador Railway. There can be 
very little question that at some time in the near 
future further railway construction will be pro- 
ceeded with, since the country is so rich in agricul- 
tural produce that a means of transportation in 
addition to and other than that in vogue must be 
introduced. In many parts of the country the ground 
is quite favourable to railroad work, the soil being 



NEW RAILWAY LINES 213 

largely decomposed volcanic ash, which stands well in 
cuttings, although there are numerous spurs to be cut 
through in many of the districts surveyed ; these are 
in general all lava rock or conglomerate, offering good 
material for ballast. In but few localities are any 
grades found steeper than 2 or 3 per cent., or any 
curves sharper than 12°. 

A Government concession for the construction of a 
railway from La Union to the Guatemalan frontier was 
granted on June 15, 1908, to Mr. Bene Keilhauer, who 
was authorized to construct a line to extend from the 
port of La Union, on the Gulf of Fonseca, to a point 
on the Guatemalan frontier. The Hne as projected 
leaves the port of La Union, and passes or connects 
with the cities of Usulutan, San Vicente and Coju- 
tepeque, unites with the line already built between 
the capital and Santa Ana, and proceeds to the 
Guatemalan frontier to make connection with the 
Atlantic Eailway of that country, and which was 
inaugurated towards the middle of 1 9 8 . A branch line 
will eventually, it is supposed, also run from La Union 
to San Miguel, the most important town of the eastern 
section of the Republic of Salvador, and connection will 
be made with Ahuachapan to the west, thus furnishing 
railroad links with all the principal Departments. 

The total length of this line will be 360 kilometres, 
and the contract carries with it the construction of a 
wharf at La Union of steel and iron, to be erected in 
connection with the railroad, and capable of accommo- 
dating the freight handling of steamers. The stipula- 
tion is made that the survey of the line shall begin 
" within sixty days of the signing of the contract," and 
that the La Union-San Miguel section be completed 
" within eighteen months " — that is to say, by the end 



214 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

of 1910 ; but this stipulation obviously has not been 
carried out. Of the remaining sections of the railroad, 
20 kilometres annually are to be put into commis- 
sion. Government assistance is guaranteed, and free 
entry for all material at the Customs-house is assured. 

Previously Mr. Keilhauer had been granted a conces- 
sion for the construction of a line of railroad from Santa 
Ana to the Guatemalan frontier, the duration of such 
concession being ninety-nine years, and carrying with 
it a Government subsidy of 3 per cent, per annum 
of the cost of each kilometre, which was fixed at 
$20,000 ( = £4,000). 

The most important feature in this contract Ues in 
the circumstance that it covers the section of the 
Pan-American line belonging to Salvador, as defined 
in the Convention which was signed in Washington 
on December 20, 1907, on the occasion of the Central 
American Peace Conference. As a matter of fact, 
work upon this construction was only commenced on 
April 15, 1910, on the Eastern Division of the Pan- 
American Pailroad, and the occasion was celebrated 
by official banquets, as is the hospitable custom in 
Latin- America. It is significant that at the time that 
the concession was obtained, and before any actual 
work commenced, the name of Mr. Rend Keilhauer 
was used ; but from then onwards it disappears, and 
those of Mr. Minor C. Keith and Mr. Bradley M. 
Palmer, both of the United Fruit Company, the former 
being the President, are substituted. Mr. Keith has 
a firm grip upon several of the Central American 
Bepublics, particularly Costa Rica, Honduras, and 
Guatemala ; while he has also extended his tentacles 
to Nicaragua, with somewhat doubtful beneficial efiects 
to that Republic. Mr. Minor C. Keith is likewise the 



NEW RAILWAY LINES 215 

moving spirit in the railroad from Santa Ana (in 
Salvador) to Zacapa (in Guatemala). This line has 
a length of seventy-nine miles, and is of a standard 
gauge. Although surveys had been undertaken and 
materials had been ordered at the time of my visit last 
year to the Republic, nothing whatever had been done 
towards active construction. 

There are some critics of this contemplated line of 
railway who consider it not alone one extremely costly 
to construct, but as likely to prove a financial loss to 
the proprietors when finished and open to trafiic. It 
may be, of course, that this view is unnecessarily pessi- 
mistic, but, inasmuch as hereafter the investing public 
may be invited to take a hand in the enterprise, it is 
desirable to present the other view for their careful 
consideration. 



CHAPTER XVI 

Ports and harbours — La Union — Population — Railway extensions— Lack 
of British bottoms — Carrying trade — H.B.M.'s Vice-Consul — Port of 
Triunfo — Bad entrance — Proposed railway — Acajutla — Loading and 
unloading facilities — Proposed improvements — Salvador Railway 
connections — La Libertad— Comandante and garrison — Loading 
and unloading facilities — Cable station and the service provided by 
Government — The staff of operators. 

The western arm of tlie Gulf of Fonseca forms tlie 
capacious and land-locked harbour of La Union, wLicli 
is situated on tlie south-western shore, four and three- 
quarter miles above the entrance. On the north side 
of the bay are extensive mud-flats that contract the 
channel in places to less than a mile in width, while 
another in front of the to"\vn uncovers at half-tide, 
virtually cutting off all communication with the shore. 
This flat has encroached upon the anchorage since Sir 
Edward Belcher's survey was made, diminishing the 
depth slightly, and shifting the channel a little to the 
northward. A small pier facilitates landing at high- 
water, and on the outer end of it a light is sometimes 
shown ; but it is of minor value, being dimmed by the 
lights in the town behind it. Coffee, cotton, hides, 
and balsam of Peru (so called, although it comes from 
Salvador), are exported. Beef, poultry, and oysters, 
can be obtained at reasonable rates. As ships find 
great difficulty in watering here, it is recommended 
to anchor and fill up at the spring, one mile belpw 
Chicarene Point. 

216 



PORTS AND HARBOURS 217 

Steamers coming to La Union are given tlie follow- 
ing directions : 

" If bound for La Union, keep to port of all the islands, and 
steer to come between Concliaguita and tlie western shore 
under the volcano of Conchagua. When fairly in mid- 
channel, the entrance to the harbour will be seen ahead 
I between Punta Sacate Island on the right and Chicarene 
Point, which terminates the eastern slope of the volcano on 
. the left. Steer nearly for the Point, and even bring it a little 
; on the starboard bow if the flood-tide is running, as it sets 
j across the shoal north of Conchaguita. As the point is 
' approached, open it a little from the north end of Punta 
Sacate and run past, giving the island the widest berth, as 
there is a rocky patch making out from the south-west point. 
It has been recommended to keep Chicarene Point close 
aboard, but a steamer drawing 15 feet touched a rock in 
doing so j therefore a safe rule would be to keep a little to 
the westward of mid-channel. During the springs the tide 
ij runs through the pass at the rate of three knots an hour." 

The port of La Union is tlie largest in tlie Republic, 
but, in spite of this fact, landing is sometimes difficult, 
and until some constructional improvements are made 
it will continue to be so. At present it is necessary 

j to disembark from the steamer on to a launcb ; from 

; tbe launcb descend into a small row-boat, and from 
the small row-boat transfer to a " dugout." Even 
then the traveller is not at the end of his trials, since 
he has to leave the dugout for a ride on a man's 

I back through several yards of surf before he can reach 

j terra firm a. 

La Union has a population of 8,000 people, in- 
cluding a garrison of 1,000 troops. It carries on a 
considerable amount of trade, chiefly in coffee exporta- 
tion and foreign goods importation, in spite of the 
difficulties of approach by sea. The advent of the 



218 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

railway is likely to add to this volume of traffic, if 
only to a limited extent. It is noteworthy, however, 
that the people of La Union are by no means enthusi- 
astic regarding the approach of this railway, and they 
speak very pessimistically as to its prospects. In 
conversation with one of the leading citizens, I was 
informed that the railway "is hardly likely to prove 
profitable, since it is in the hands of the wrong 
people " (namely, an American group) ; and the case 
of the railway at Puerto Barrios, in Guatemala, which 
is controlled by some of the same entrepreneurs, is 
quoted as an example of what may be expected. So 
indifferently are passengers treated in connection with 
the Guatemala Railway, which is under the jurisdiction 
of the United Fruit Company of Boston, U.S.A., that 
no one now will travel upon it if he can possibly 
avoid it. It is quite probable, in view of the much- 
improved steamship service offered by the Salvador 
Railway (from Acajutla to Sahna Cruz, Mexico), that 
this will continue to be the principal means of reaching 
the United States and Europe and for transmitting 
cargoes. 

La Union was at one time a port of call for the 
Pacific Steam Navigation Company of Liverpool, which, 
however, withdrew their service in 1898, apparently 
finding the competition with the Pacific Mail Steam- 
ship Company of San Francisco too keen, and the 
carrying business insufficient. The Pacific Steam 
Navigation Company sold out their interest to the 
Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and since then — 
much to the regret of all shippers and passengers ahke 
in the Central American ports — its boats have not 
been seen at La Uni6n. 

In fact, no British steamers have called there except 



LA UNION 219 

an occasional Leyland or a Lamport and Holt steamer 
sent to load coffee, and tlie reappearance of the British 
flag has been entirely due to the efforts of the Salvador 
Eailway Company. 

The Pacific Mail Steamship's Company's freight 
charges are now $3 gold (12s. 6d.) per ton for 
carrying coffee from La Union and other Central 
American ports to San Francisco, U.S.A., but they 
formerly charged $8 (33s. 4d.) per ton. The con- 
siderable reduction is due to the severe competi- 
tion which this octopus-like company has had to 
meet with from both the Kosmos Company and the 
Salvador Railway. 

The annual export of coffee from La Union amounts 
to 150,000 sacks, all of which are carried to Eiirope 
(Hamburg, Havre, etc.), the Kosmos Company taking 
by far the greater part. Day by day the Pacific 
Mail Steamship Company loses ground and popularity 
throughout Central American ports owing to its ex- 
tortionate charges (where there is no competition), to 
its indifferent management, and, above all, by reason 
of the gross discourtesy with which its clients are 
sometimes treated by the uncouth and half- savage 
officials whom it employs. 

British interests at La Uni6n, such as they are, are 
represented by Mr. John B. Courtade, His Britannic 
Majesty's Vice-Consul ; and this gentleman also acts 
as French, Chilian, and Norwegian Consul. Mr. 
Courtade, who is a Frenchman by birth, has been a 
resident of La Union for thirty-three years, and he is 
one of the best-known and most-respected inhabitants 
of the place. The "palatial" offices which enshrine 
H.B.M.'s Vice- Consulate will be noted with satisfac- 
tion by the patriotic. 



2»0 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Between La L'mdn and La Libertad is situated tlie 
port of TriimfOj which, is 60 miles from tbe latter, 
smd 156 miles from the former. TrinDfo, however, 
has a very poor natural entrance, owing to the heavy 
snrf which is continnally breaking on the shore. 
It is to this port, nevertheless, that an American 
syndicate are abont to construct a railway, with the 
idea of haudliTig the large quantity of coffee which is 
grown in the neighbourhood, and consigned to this 
IKHt for shipment abroad. So dangerous was Triunfo 
formerly considered as a landing-place, that Lloyd's 
had been advised by their agents not to issue in- 
snrances, but to allow shippers to take the risk. With 
the contemplated improvements at the port, however, 
in conjunction with the railway, Triimfo will probably 
be ranked with La ITnion as a safe and convenient 
port. At present the steamers of the Salvador Rail- 
way Company call there on their way to and from 
Coiinto to Salina Cruz. 

During last, year the Gk)vemment encouraged 
measures to Tnaintain a fii^-class service of loading 
and unloading cargo at the various ports, while 
attending also to the embarking and disembarking of 
paRBRfigers, lecognizLog the necessity of putting both 
tibese brandies of service upon a more satisfactory 
foG^iDg. Serviceable and commodious port-boats have 
been provided for each of the Comandantes at La 
Union, La Libertad, and Triunfo. The latter port 
is now used, as mentioned above, for the shipping of 
: :±-z 3.-Z1 : =: rrjlusively ; and it is through El Triunfo 
that is ezT irri the produce of the bountiful coffee 
hairest yielded by the Department of Usulutan, which 
represents more than a third part of the whole of the 
Republic '5 coffee produce. 



ACAJUTLA 221 

Acajutla, tlie port of Sonsonate, is an open bay 
about sixty-two miles to the east of San Jose ; it is 
sheltered from tbe sontb-east by tbe Remedios reef, a 
dangerous and extensive sboal, extending from a point 
of tbe same name. Tbe salt water bere is considered 
injurious to cables and copper. Sbips ancbor in 9 to 
11 fatboms. Landing is occasionally difficult, and ougbt 
to be effected in a good boat. Mercbant vessels load 
and discbarge tbeir cargoes by means of bongos, or 
large craft in tbe sbape of wbale-boats. A substan- 
tially-built pier, fitted witb cranes, facilitates tbe 
landing, altbougb at times tbe surf renders it 
hazardous. By giving sbort notice, fresb provisions 
may be obtained in large quantities from Sonsonate. 
Tbe active volcano of Izalco, on a nortb-east by nortb 
bearing, forms a good leading mark for tbis part, and 
Point Remedios, long, low, and tbickly wooded, may 
easily be recognized. 

Tbe sea-batbing at Acajutla contributes to the 
attraction of tbe place. Nowhere upon the coast of 
these Central American countries will a smoother or 
wider sand-beach be found ; and at all times of tbe 
year, while at most hours of the day, women and 
children are found disporting themselves in the 
swelling and sometimes boisterous surf. The com- 
parative freedom from the attacks of sharks and other 
predatory fish is also a great benefit, although there 
are stories current of men and women having been 
seized and carried away by these prowling tigers of 
the sea. An "old inhabitant " of some twenty-five 
years' residence, however, informed me that he had 
never known of a case where death had ensued, and, 
while be himself bad heard of the shark stories referred 
to, he bad no personal knowledge of tbeir accuracy. 



SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

The sanitary conditions of Acajutla are at present 
poor, and it is scarcely surprising to hear that cases 
of fever and other maladies exist in. certain seasons. 
All this could easily be changed by a more strict 
municipal supervision, and an ordinance which ren- 
dered penal the perpetration of the prevailing habits 
of the people. Such deadly fever-dens as the local 
" hotel," for instance, should be swept away without 
remorse or hesitation, and a system of house-to-house 
inspection introduced. In view of the fact that many 
foreigners as well as natives have, of a necessity, to 
spend a certain amount of time in the port, awaiting 
their steamers proceeding north or south, it is the 
bounden duty of the local authorities to see that their 
lives are not endangered by pestilential conditions 
existing in the town. The small but important 
colony of hard-working port and railway oflicials 
should also be considered, and especially as among 
them are some few Europeans who are not accus- 
tomed to the unsanitary system in vogue. I have 
little doubt that, once the attention of the Salvador 
Government is directed to this matter, some improve- 
ment will be introduced, and, once introduced, will be 
carefully maintained. 

Whatever prospect is in store for the port of Acajutla 
depends to a great extent upon the success of the new 
shipping arrangements in connection with the Salvador 
Railway, and these, as I have already pointed out 
elsewhere, are making consistent and steady progress. 
It is but a small place, and, although very picturesquely 
situated upon a typically tropical coast, it is at some 
seasons found rather trying, especially to Europeans. 
The surrounding scenery, like all the country in 
Salvador, is attractive to the eye, the long line of blue 





^ <; 



LA LIBERTAD 223 

ocean, fringed with, its lacelike foam, for ever gathering 
and breaking in dazzling green and white waves upon 
the smooth and sandy beach ; the brilliant green of 
■ the mangrove, the cocoanut palms, and the banana 
patches lend vividness of colour, while the distant 
monntain-peaks, innumerable and fantastic of shape, 
give the port of Acajutla a decidedly romantic aspect. 
Although during the dry season a strong and cool 
I wind blows for several hours of the day, and at sunset 
i changes to a pleasant land-breeze, blowing sometimes 
' steadily, and at others decidedly gustily, during the 
ill night, the hours of darkness never seem so long nor 
so trying, on account of the heat, the dryness, and the 
mosquitoes, as is the case in so many parts of South 
and Central America. Some day, maybe, this place 
,, will be taken in hand by the speculative builder, and 
! as great improvements effected as have been introduced 
at Panamd, at Puerto Limon (Costa Rica), and at San 
Jose, in the same Republic, but on the Pacific side of 
that Republic. Acajutla is just as open to, and capable 
of, improvement and reformation ; between the enter- 
prise of the Salvador Government and the Salvador 
Railway Company there is no reason why this port 
should not eventually become one of the most im- 
portant in Central America. 

La Libertad is the second of the three Salvadorean 
ports, as already mentioned, Acajutla and La Union 
being the other two. It is a small but well-formed 
roadstead, but does not invariably offer good shelter to 
the largest vessels, since sudden rollers come in which 
are apt to snap ship's cables unless with a long range. 
The foreshore is narrow, and is backed up by some 
lofty hills — scarcely high enough to be called moun- 
tains, however — which are partially cultivated, and 



224 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

form a pleasing setting to the Port itself. The build- 
ings are few as yet, but such as there are they seem to 
be well constructed and of superior character both 
outwardly and inwardly; the usual style of Latin- 
American architecture is followed in regard to the one- 
story edifice, except in the case of the Comandancia — 
official residence and office of the chief authority — . 
which is a large wooden edifice of two stories, the 
lower portion forming the quarters of the garrison, and 
the upper part the residence of the Comandante. 
About 100 men form the garrison, the regi- 
ment quartered there being the 5th Artillery. They 
possess several pieces of modern ordnance, which they 
know how to handle with great expedition and effici- 
ency. The guns are kept exceedingly clean, and 
frequent drills serve to keep the artillerymen both 
smart and interested. The Comandante of the Port, 
Captain Angel Esteves, is quite a young man, possessed 
of a very pleasing face and figure, as well as of charm- 
ing manners. He has travelled in the United States, 
and speaks English fairly well. He expressed to me 
his intention of shortly visiting England in order to 
study military matters, and " to see a country of which 
he had always heard great accounts, and for which he 
entertained a profound admiration." 

The streets of La Libertad are mostly paved with ^ 
hewn stones, and the whole place, consisting of but , 
700 or 800 inhabitants, is kept in excellent sanitary 
order. A market is held here every week, and a con- 
siderable amount of local trade is carried on from day 
to day. The extensive warehouses and Customs sheds 
are also well filled with foreign goods received from 
different ports of Europe and the United States ; but 
while as many as three or four ships caU there every 



M 



LA LIBERTAD 225 

week, I understand that these do not include any- 
British bottoms other than the steamer Salvador, 
belonging to the Salvador Railway Company. The 
Comandante informed me that during the two years 
that he had been in La Libertad he had not seen 
another British vessel at the Port, the vessels calling- 
there being either American, German or French. 

A large amount of coffee is exported from La Libertad, 
the bags arriving out-bound from San Salvador, the 
capital, which is only eight leagues (about twenty-four 
miles) distant, and the journey usually being per- 
formed in a day and a half by ox-waggon, or in three 
or four hours on mule-back. 

Between the Capital and the Port are situated two 
to"wns — Zaragosa and Santa Tecla — both of some im- 
portance. Around both also are located many coffee 
and sugar fincas, such as that of La Laguna, near San 
Salvador, the property of Herr F^dor Deininger, of 
whom I have made mention elsewhere in this volume, 
and who is one of the wealthiest, as well as one of the 
most enterprising, coffee-planters and sugar-manufac- 
turers living in Salvador. 

La Libertad possesses a strong and well-designed 
iron pier, some 450 feet in length, with two large 
covered warehouses, steam-cranes, and all the neces- 
sary apparatus for loading and unloading lighters. 
There is a double set of rails running from the pit-head 
to the Customs-house, and a fair equipment of flat- 
cars and platforms-cars. The warehouses are kept 
scrupulously clean and airy, everything being main- 
tained in admirable working condition. 

The pier and the wharf Avere constructed by a local 
jCjMnpany some forty years ago, and the concession 
which covered that period having only expired last 

15 



226 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

year (1910), the pier and everytliing connected with 
it have now become the property of the Salvadorean 
Government. It is not intended, however, to make 
any additions or alterations to the structure, which is 
in all respects equal to the port's requirements at the 
present time. In all probability La Libertad wiR not 
much increase in importance as a port, in view of the 
extensions at Triunfo and at Acajutla, which already 
possesses a railway to the Capital, and of La Uni6n, 
which ere long will also have one to the interior of 
the Republic. 

La Libertad must nevertheless always count as of 
some consequence, if only on account of its being the 
one cable-station in the Republic of Salvador, and 
which serves at the same time as a receiving-station 
for Costa Rica, the one Central American Republic 
which has no cable-station of its own. La Libertad 
shares with Col6n the monopoly of despatching and 
receiving all the cable-messages from Central America 
and the United States. Its cable extends to Salina 
Cruz, in Mexico, messages being thence transmitted 
to Galveston, U.S.A. La Libertad's cable, although 
in constant use, is regarded more as a " stand-by " in 
the event of a breakdown on the Panama line, an 
eventuality of by no means infrequent occurrence, 
especially in time of political trouble and when the 
fierce Atlantic storms prevail. A full equipment is 
therefore always maintained, although the active staff 
employed consists of but two individuals — Mr. A. H. 
Hooper, an American of great linguistic ability and 
remarkable literary judgment, and a young Danish 
telegraphist, Fedor Michaelson. Both officials are ex- 
pert instrument-operators, and in depending upon the 
La Libertad station as a substitute or a " stand-by," 



CABLE STATION 227 

tlie Cable Company are leaning upon no hollow reed. 
Messrs. Hooper and Michaelson are higlily competent 
officers, the latter, indeed, being one of the quickest 
and most accurate operators that I have met with in 
any part of the world. 

In La Libertad a number of press and Government 
messages from all parts of the world are received 
every day, and sometimes almost all day. The instru- 
ments used include Muirhead's automatic transmitter, 
which will send 200 letters per minute, and Sir 
William Thompson's patent recorder, as well as a 
complete fault-finding apparatus, which enables the 
officials to at once trace the seat of any breakdown 
which may occur to the cable, and thus despatch the 
repair-ship to the necessary spot. While visiting the 
La Libertad cable-station, I witnessed several messages 
I being despatched and received (and actually corre- 
sponded with Salina Cruz, Mexico), the average speed 
being a little over fifty words in three minutes, or, say, 
seventeen words a minute received and recorded. 

At this cable-station above mentioned, a service of 
cablegrams received for the Salvadorean Government 
averages 2,000 words a day. The service is supplied 
free of all charge by the Government to the Salvador 
newspapers, and is greatly appreciated by the reading 
j)ublic. The source of supply is New York, and the 
Correspondent responsible is the New York Corre- 
spondent of La Prensa, the great Argentine daily 
newspaper, which enjoys the proud position of possess- 
ing the most palatial offices of any newspaper in the 
world. The news-cables are very informative, and 
are at the same time commendably free from political 
bias or personal opinions — a rare recommendation 
indeed, considering the land of their origin. 



CHAPTER XVII 

Agriculture — Government support and supervision — Annual productions 
— Agricultural schools — Cattle-breeding — Coffee — Sugar — Tobacco — 
Forestry — Rice — Beans — Cacao — Balsam — Treatment by natives. 

It is only nataral, in a country where agricnltnre 
forms one of the most important sources of revenue, 
that the Government should have directed its par- 
ticular attention to the supervision and control of the 
industry. The Land Law of Salvador consists of no 
fewer than 245 separate articles, which are contained 
under eight different " titles," as follows : Title I. : 
Concerning the govermnent and control of the industry, 
and which contains six chapters ; Title II. : Con- 
cerning persons who devote themselves to agricultural 
industry, containing five chapters ; Title III. : Con- 
cerning rural property, which contains four chapters ; 
Title IV. : Concerning live-stock and game, consisting 
of four chapters ; Title V. : Concerning public roads, 
containing but one chapter : Title VI. : Forest culture, 
containing three chapters : Title VII. : Water for 
public use, containing two chapters ; Title VIII. : 
Concerning administrative justice and guarantees 
afforded to rural property, consisting of two chapters. 
This Land Law is a model of common sense, and 
shows evidence of much ability in construction ; it 
might well serve as a model for similar executive 
ordinances in other countries, not excepting that of 

228 



AGRICULTURAL MATTERS 229 

Great Britain, where agriciiLtural legislation and 
Governmental assistance are sorely needed. 

Tlie Government of Salvador exercises its control 
over all agricultural matters, firstly by tlie Executive, 
through, the medium of the Department of the In- 
terior ; secondly, through an Agricultural Board ; 
thirdly, through Departmental Governors, who are 
assisted by Local Boards ; fourthly, through munici- 
palities, with their Mayors and Agricultural Com- 
mittees ; and, fifthly, through the services of Rural 
Inspectors, Special Assistants, and Commissioners. 
It is to be observed that the Land Law of Salvador, 
while of an administrative character, leaves in force 
the Civil Code of Civil Procedure, even in those 
questions especially relating to rural property, without 
prejudice to the few provisions relating to these codes, 
and which can be regarded as additional or modifying 
provisions. 

The annual amount of agricultural produce exported 
from the Republic of Salvador may be piit as follows : 
Coffee, 30,000 tons ; Sugar, 70,000 cwt. ; Rubber, 
500 cwt. ; Balsam, 1,300 cwt. These figures, however, 
are exclusive of the considerable amounts of each com- 
modity consimaed in the country, and which likewise 
comprise large quantities of cereals, such as corn, 
beans, rice, wheat, etc. The Government is encouraging 
the cultivation of henequen, or Sisal agave, as well as 
cotton, maize, and other useful plants, which will 
figure to some degree in future retiirns from the 
Department of Agriculture. 

The Ministry of Agriculture and the Councils and 
Committees of the Department, besides contributing 
to the development and increase of agriculture, also 
assist the scientific improvement of the crops, cir- 



S30 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

dilating among cultivators all those provisions which 
they judge to be opportune, and as likely to conduce 
to the prosperity of the industry. A step in the path 
of agricultural progress is the creation and mainte- 
nance of the School of Agronomy, which is carried on 
upon a plantation of some 200 manzanas in extent, 
where there is water in abundance. The farm is 
located between the cities of Sonsonate and Izalco, and 
lies at 450 metres elevation above the level of the sea. 
The school building is constructed on a tableland, 
which occupies the most elevated part of the planta- 
tion, and consists of all the usual departments con- 
sidered to be indispensable for an establishment of its 
kind. It possesses laboratories for the study of, and ex- 
periments in, chemistry and botany, and a small model 
dairy, provided with all the necessary apparatus, 
instruments, and tools. The total cost of the institu- 
tion and its equipment amounted to $64,498.19. It 
was inaugurated on June 4, 1907, and in the month 
of September of the same year student classes were 
opened, and they have since been maintained, under the 
direction of the Agronomical Engineer, Don Felix 
Choussy, without interruption. This school ranks as 
one of the most pronounced successes which the 
Government of the Republic has achieved. 

It would be difficult to find any locality in South 
America, not excepting the Argentine Repuiblic or 
Uruguay, where the breeding of cattle could be engaged 
in, nor where finer butcher's meat can be grown more 
successfully, than upon the magnificent pastoral ranges 
of Salvador. Cattle are not only abundant, but they 
seem to thrive with practically little or no attention. 
The meat secured is of a delicious and firm nature, 
but, unfortunately, as in all tropical countries, it must 



A SCARCITY OF SHEEP 231 

be cooked and eaten tlie same day that tke animal is 
kiUed. Tiie natives do not deem this any objection ; 
but Europeans, who are accustomed to the taste of 
tender and juicy meats, do not so generally approve. 
The price of beef is moderate in extreme, and it can 
be found on sale in the markets aU the year round. 

Sheep are somevs^hat scarce, and they do not appear 
to thrive here as they do in some parts of Mexico or in 
Argentina. I should not consider Salvador a good 
sheep-country, and the breed is not in any way 
encouraged. Possibly the heat of the plains is a bar 
to any great success attending the raising of these 
animals, while, on the other hand, mutton is not a 
popular diet with the people, who are not in any case 
very heavy meat-consumers. On the great majority 
of small estates, and even among the poorest of the 
people, hogs are very largely bred, and some fine 
specimens are to be met with. Among poultry, fowls 
and turkeys, again, are numerous, and generally of 
excellent quality, large and plump birds being obtain- 
able for very moderate prices at all times. In this 
case also it is customary to cook and consume the 
birds a few hours after they have been killed, so that 
a tender fowl is not often met with. I noticed but few 
ducks or geese, and the latter birds may be regarded 
as somewhat of a rarity. Quantities of wild-fowl, 
however, find their way to the market, and there they 
fetch moderately good prices. Immense flocks of 
duck are found at certain seasons of the year feeding 
and breeding upon the many inland lakes, and they 
afford excellent sport to the few guns which break in 
upon their ahnost undisturbed repose. These quiet 
and peaceful lagoons, in their entrancing scenic sur- 
roundings, form an ideal spot for the sportsman, since 



232 



SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



they would be found an almost untouched field for his 
amusement. 

Salvador, from the conformation of its surface and 
the nature of its soil, is essentially an agricultural 
State. The basin of the River San Miguel, that of 
Sonsonate, and the vaUey proper of the Lempa, no less 
than the alluvians bordering on the Pacific, are of an 
extraordinarHy fertile character and especially adap- 
table for the production of tropical staples. Around the 
Bay of Jiquilisco and the port of La Libertad, cotton 
has been cultivated with success for the last sixty years, 
but it is only up to within comparatively recent years 
that the principal products of the State have included 
indigo, sugar and maize. Li many respects the State 
of Salvador differs agriculturally from the South and 
other Central American Republics. In the first place, 
there is but little unappropriated land to be found in 
it, nearly the whole being the property of private 
mdividuals ; secondly, the people are active and intelli- 
gent—naturally so, and not merely by education ; they 
are unquestionably industrious. Certainly they are 
the best cultivators in Central America ; and under 
favourable circumstances— that is to say, during periods 
of poHtical tranquiUity— they can find abundant em- 
ployment for their labour. 

Indigo, or, to give it its native name, " jiquilite," for 
long constituted the chief article in the exports of the 
country, but in point of importance it has had to give 
place to coffee. Indigo is found in practicaUy aU parts 
of Salvador, but especiaUy in the districts of Zacate- 
coluca and San Miguel, and some idea may be obtained 
of the great space of groimd which is, or rather which 
used to be, appropriated to indigo, when it is stated 
that it takes about 2 cwt. of the green plant to yield 




Native Habitation in the Hot Country. 










Native making sugar from a primitive wooden mill. 



INDIGO 23S 

8, 10 or 12 ounces of indigo ; on the land which is 
found most suitable to it, 12 ounces are seldom ex- 
ceeded, but there are records which show that in 
favourable seasons, upon taking an average of five 
years, upwards of 12,000 serrones (1 serron=150 
pounds) have been produced in the entire Republic. 
A quantity such as this, in former times, would be 
valued at $3,000,000 in the European markets ; but as 
long ago as the year 1850 the value of the product had 
become greatly reduced, and it would not even then 
have realized one-haK that sum. To-day, when 
aniline dyes take the place of indigo, it would be 
difficult to place anything like an accurate price upon 
such an amount of produce, nor to suppose that it 
would be marketable at all. How much the production 
has fallen oft in later years can be seen when it is said 
that the total amount produced in 1891 was only 
7,889 serrones, and in the year following, 9,587 
serrones. 

Indigo is produced from an indigenous triennial 
plant. Indigo/era Anil, which is its botanical name, and 
the plant flourishes luxuriously upon nearly all kinds 
of soil. The land requires comparatively little prep- 
aration, being merely burnt and slightly ploughed. 
The seed, which is scattered broadcast, is sown in the 
months of February and April, and the growth of the 
plant is so rapid that by the end of Aug-ust it has 
attained a height of from 5 to 6 feet, and is then fit for 
cutting. The product of the first year is but moderate, 
and it is at this stage called " tinta nueva," the strength 
being reserved for the second and third years, when 
the product is known as '' tinta retofio." When the 
crop is ripe, the process of manufacture is carried on 
daily without interruption until the whole of the crop 



234 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

is garnered. Just as the plant requires little attention 
and no skill, so tlie manufacture of tlie indigo calls for 
neither a very difficult nor any expensive process ; all 
that it needs is that it be cut promptly and at the 
proper period, otherwise it becomes worthless. This 
means that the proprietors of the larger estates must 
have an ample and a reliable supply of labour at hand, 
which desideratum cannot be implicitly relied upon in 
the present condition of the market. 

Next to indigo, coffee ranks second in importance in 
the country's agricultural products ; the very finest 
berry is grown in the Republic. It may be found in 
practically all parts, wherever the land rises between 
1,500 and 4,000 feet above sea-level. The choicest 
and most productive plantations are located in 
the Departments of Ahuachapan, La Libertad, San 
Salvador, San Vicente, Santa Ana and Sonsonate. The 
berry is also grown in Usulutan, La Paz and Cuscatlan^ 
many hundreds of thousands of additional trees 
having been planted throughout this part of the 
country during the past two or three years. 

The coffee-tree is a tender shrub, and needs careful 
attending and protection from the sun from the time 
of planting, and even for a lengthy period after it has 
begun to produce crops. It required a great many 
years to convince the cautious inhabitants of Salvador 
that there was money to be made in growing coffee, 
and up till some fifty years ago httle attention was paid 
to the industry, since few opportunities existed for dis- 
posing promptly of a whole crop. The stimulus which 
latter-day transportation offers was wanting, as was the 
world-wide demand for the coffee-berry which has since 
been met with. Since the industry was first seriously 
entered upon, the resources of the State have been 



SUGAR-CANE 235 

greatly augmented, and the welfare of a large labour- 
ing class lias correspondingly increased. 

I was informed upon one estate, or jinca, tliat tlie 
trees in Salvador were sufficiently matured when three 
years old to produce a fair crop, and that this yield 
continued to increase until the seventh year, when it 
reached its maximum. It is calculated that the outlay 
for labour and expenses in producing coffee amounts 
to between 24d. to 3d. per pound, while the retail 
price varies from 5d. to Is. It may be taken, on an 
average, that one-half of the annual crop is consumed 
in the country, and that the remainder is exported. 
There is a general opinion prevalent among experts 
that Salvadorean coffee is superior in quality to that 
of Brazil, or even to the Blue Mountain (Jamaica) 
berry ; while as to the pre-eminence of the aroma over 
both of these rivals there can be no question whatever. 

Sugar-cane growing is an industry for which the 
genial climate and the bounteous soil of Salvador are 
admirably adapted, and the cane is cultivated to a 
greater or less extent in all of the fourteen different 
Departments. As I have pointed out in another part 
of this volume, when describing sugar machinery (see 
Chapter XII.), there is a great need of improved equip- 
ment, which, were it provided, would probably serve 
to double, and even in some cases to treble, the amount 
of this particular product. But even with the imper- 
fect reduction work which is carried out upon nine- 
tenths of the jincas, sugar is produced to such an 
extent as not only to abundantly supply the home 
requirements, but to provide a considerable share of 
the country's exports. The greater part of the sugar 
used in the country is turned out in the shape of small 
blocks or cakes, weighing about 2 pounds each, and 



236 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

bearing the name of panela, similar to that produced 
in Brazil and Mexico. A large quantity of this stuff, 
which looks and tastes very much like toffee, while it 
also resembles the maple sugar of North America, 
is used in the manufacture of native rum. Conical- 
shaped loaves of compact white sugar, weighing from 
25 to 40 pounds each, are also manufactured, but are 
mostly made for export. 

In the " golden days " of Cahfornia, the greater 
part of the rum which was consumed upon the gold- 
fields came from Sonsonate in Salvador, being packed 
in 14 and 15 gallon casks and greybeards of from 
3 to 6 gallons, suitable for easy transport to the 
Califomian diggings. 

For some years past Salvador has been gaining a 
reputation for the excellent quality of its tobacco, and 
there are several manufactories established in the 
Republic, which are doing remarkably well. One of 
the best known for cigars is that of Senora Josefa 
B. de Diaz, the amiable proprietress of the Hotel 
America, at Cojutepeque. 

Half a century ago Salvador was exporting tobacco 
to Mexico, and had been doing a fair amount of trade 
with that country even in the time of the Spanish 
dominion. The tobacco production collectively in aU 
the provinces of the Republic yield a net revenue to 
the Government of more than £500,000 annually ; but 
the method of administering and collecting the taxes 
in former times helped as much as anything else to 
retard the industry. For instance, under the old 
regime a general system was subscribed, and scrupu- 
lously adhered to, which precluded people from raising 
tobacco, except when they should obtain a licence to 
do so from the authorities ; and the growers, under 



TOBACCO 237 

one of the many irritating conditions attached to the 
official permission, were bound to deliver the entire 
crop, after it had been dried and prepared, into the 
Government factories at a stipulated rate per pound ; 
it was then retailed to the community at a fixed price, 
and yielded the substantial revenue referred to. Later 
on each province passed its own laws for regulating this 
branch of the public income, and, inasmuch as these 
laws were neither uniform nor permanent, great con- 
fusion prevailed and much loss was incurred, while 
an immense amount of smuggling went on, as may 
well be believed. 

The Government of Salvador of recent years has 
adopted quite different methods, and has done much 
to encourage the industry, such, for instance, as im- 
porting tobacco-seed and distributing it gratis among 
cultivators, with the idea of promoting the culture of 
the plant ; while at the same time it has imported 
native cultivators from Cuba for the purpose of teach- 
ing the method of growing and working the tobacco 
as practised on that island. In spite of this free and 
valuable instruction, I am afraid that the methods of 
handling the tobacco in Salvador are often found to 
be decidedly primitive, the growers allowing the leaves 
to dry in the sun without detaching them from the 
stalks, the latter being cut a few inches above the 
ground. They are then piled in stacks from 6 to 
9 feet in diameter and from 3 to 4 feet in height, 
heavy weights being placed on the top, and the whole 
covered over with a thick layer of banana leaves. 
Fermentation then ensues, and by this action the 
colour and aroma of the leaves are brought out. 
Only by guesswork is it decided when the process is 
complete, and the tobacco is then taken from the 



238 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

stack, exposed for a short time to the air, whereafter 
the leaves are detached from the stalks, sorted, and 
tied into bundles, and then sent to market. It will be 
recognized that the choiceness of the tobacco and its 
excellent quality must be very high when they "can 
withstand successfully such a crude treatment as this. 
How much more valuable might the plant's product 
become as a commodity, and how much higher would 
be the revenue yielded, were modern methods of treat- 
ing the leaf to be introduced ! 

In some sections of Salvador tobacco-growers have 
resorted to an ingenious method of ridding the tobacco- 
leaves of destructive insects and worms that feed upon 
the tender young plants at certain periods of their 
development. A kind of turkey, known locally under 
the name of " chompipe," a bird which was brought 
originally from the West Indies, and is capable of being 
easily domesticated, is kept in flocks of considerable 
size in the vicinity of the tobacco-fields, and at certain 
hours of the day these are driven through the fields in 
order to rid the tobacco-plants of worms and insects. 

These turkeys do their work so well that the smallest 
insect fails to escape them, and yet they pick them off 
with such care that the tender leaves remain free from 
injury. Without the use of these fowls, labourers 
must be employed to go through the fields at stated 
intervals to pick off the insects and worms from the 
leaves ; and this method, aside from being tedious and 
unsatisfactory, often damages the leaves through rough 
handling, causing defective development and a reduc- 
tion of their value as a marketable product. 

I found, in my travels through the country, other 
classes of agriculture being pursued besides those 
which have been mentioned. For instance, india- 



RUBBER-GROWING 2S9 

rubber is a distinctly profitable branch, in spite of 
tbe primitive methods pursued in collecting it, and 
which are still, for the most part, in vogue. The 
Government has made many earnest efforts to im- 
prove conditions and to teach the people how to both 
cultivate and to collect the precious material, but it 
is not possible to congratulate those who pursue the 
industry upon the amount of success attained. I have 
been shown the extensive forests of promising-looking 
rubber-trees growing in the provinces of La Paz, 
La Union, San Miguel, and Usulutdn ; but when I 
inquired into the methods followed by those who are 
employed in collecting the gum, I found the most 
wasteful system in force, and the work generally con- 
ducted in a desultory, indifferent manner, with the 
result that it hardly paid to follow the occupation at 
all. Under properly organized labour and systemat- 
ically managed, rubber-growing ought to, and no doubt 
one day will, become a valuable feature of the country's 
industries. 

Then, again, rice is cultivated, but not at all scien- 
tifically. Nevertheless some fairly good crops are 
annually gathered in, mostly of the upland variety, 
and grown upon the tablelands and hillsides. Very 
little rice, comparatively speaking, is exported, the 
greater part of that produced being consumed locally. 
Some of the neighbouring Republics take a small 
quantity of the grain from Salvador, but as a rule 
these States grow their own supplies, and need but 
little importation. It seems a great pity that, with 
land so eminently suitable for rice cultivation, so little 
— and that little of such poor quality — should be 
annually produced in Salvador. 

Cacao is one of the leading products of this much- 



240 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 1 

favoured country, and it can be found growing more 
luxuriantly in Salvador than in any of the Central 
American States. Very little attention is given, how- 
ever, to the method of cultivation, in spite of the fact 
that cacao is one of the oldest agricultural specialities 
of this country. History shows that at one time 
Sonsonate and San Vicente were famous alike for 
the quantity and the excellence of the cacao grown 
there. Such plants as are cidtivated now are utilized 
almost entirely in the country in the manufacture of 
chocolate, etc., and this product figures but insignifi- 
cantly among the country's exports. 

Beans — known here, as in all Latin - American 
countries, as frijoles — form a large proportion of the 
humbler people's daily diet. They are large, brown, 
and flat in appearance, very nourishing, and very 
palatable when properly cooked. They are grown all 
over the Eepublic, and seem to flourish even in poor- 
quahty soil. Indian corn, or maize, wheat, potatoes, 
sweet-potatoes, yams, and other vegetables in great 
variety, flourish here, and one is reminded of a famous 
cultivator's exordium upon the merits of Jamaica : 
" You have," said he, " but to tickle the ground with 
a hoe, and it at once smiles a yam." 

Except in Brazil, which probably stands unrivalled 
among the South American States as a precious-wood- 
yielding country, I know of no State possessing finer 
timber forests than Salvador. I have ridden mile 
upon mile through magnificent timber-tree lands — 
the cedar, the mahogany, the ebony, the granadilla, 
and many other valuable cabinet woods ; but upon 
inquiry as to what is being done with all this precious 
material pro\^ded by a bountiful Nature, I was in- 
formed that it is rarely marketed, although it is cut 



NATIVE WOODS 241 

occasionally for local building purposes. Many of 
the larger private houses and public buildings in San 
Salvador are constructed of native woods, and one 
is struck with, the beauty of their grain and their 
extreme hardness, while they will mostly take on a 
high polish. In the lowlands there is an extremely 
large variety of dye woods to be met with ; but here, 
again, the great forests are left almost untouched, 
many of them being as trackless as the day that they 
came into being. The only tree among these latter of 
which use is made is the mora, or fustic of commerce. 
The pine-forests are also just beginning to be ex- 
ploited, and one or two successful lumber enterprises 
have been started. The Salvadorean forest pine is 
fully equal in durability, in quality, and in appearance, 
to the Southern States ceiba and other pine- woods. 

The pride of place in the forestry of the Republic 
belongs to the beautiful and valuable balsam-tree — 
the Myrospermum Salvatoriensis — yielding what is 
known to the Materia Medica as "balsam of Peru." 
The Indian appellation for it is hoitziiixitl. Why is 
it called "balsam of Peru'' if it is the "balsam of 
Salvador " ? I am told, because the precious gum was 
exported as an article of commerce to Peru from Sal- 
vador in the early days of the Spanish Dominion, and 
thence found its way to Europe. As a matter of fact, 
it is to be found growing in no country of the world 
but Salvador, and there in only a few parts of it. " La 
Costa del Bdlsamo " is to be seen marked upon any 
map of Central America, lying to the seaward of the 
great volcanic range of mountains ; and here it is that 
the trees are met with, standing together in so close a 
mass that the daylight seldom enters, and sunlight 
never. The whole district is inhabited by Indians, 

16 



242 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

who have come to regard the place as their own 
undisputed territory. They live entirely upon the 
product of the balsam-tree, hewing down huge planks 
of this and other woods, which they market to great 
advantage. The balsam is their main source of 
wealth, however ; and although to-day the annual 
product falls short of what was realized, say, half a 
century ago, it still figures very largely in the annual 
exports of the country. Strangely enough, the tree 
cannot be cultivated in any other part of Salvador, 
although the climatic conditions, the soil, and the 
physical characteristics, may be found suitable. Similar 
experiences are found in Jamaica, where the pimento - 
tree is to be met with in one particular locality only, 
and nowhere else, even careful planting proving quite 
useless to alter or improve upon the conditions which 
have been dictated by Nature. 

The Indian gatherers obtain the balsam from the 
tree by scraping the skin of the bark to the depth of 
one-tenth part of an inch, using for the purpose a 
sharp native knife, or machete. This scraping is done 
in small patches, extending to 12 or 15 inches square, 
the incisions being made both across and along the 
trunk and the largest branches of the tree. Immedi- 
ately after the operation of scratching is completed, 
the portions scraped are heated with burning torches, 
which are made out of the dried branches of a tree 
known locally as chimaliote ; and after burning the 
surfaces are covered over with pieces of old cotton 
cloth, under which they are left for a time. By 
punching the edges of the cloths pressed against 
the tree with the point of the machete, they are made 
to adhere. In this condition they are again left for 
a space of twenty-four hours, and even as long as 




A Street in Sonsonate (Calle jje JMercado). 




YPE OF "QuINTA"OR COUNTRY HOUSE IN SaNTA TeCLA (New SaN SaI.VADOR) 



BALSAM 243 

forty-eight hours (especially in the month of January), 
when the rags are gathered and submitted to a strong 
and hot decoction in big iron pots. While still hot 
the rags are put under a great pressure in a primitive 
kind of machine, which is made by the Indians them- 
selves, and composed of a combination of wooden 
levers and strong ropes, worked entirely by hand. 
The balsam juice then oozes out, and drips slowly 
into a receptacle, where it is allowed to cool. It is 
then in the stage known as " raw balsam." After- 
wards it has to be refined, which means boiling it 
again and draining off all impurities, when it is packed 
in iron cans and sent away to market. 

There is another method, which was explained to 
me, for extracting the balsam — namely, by entirely 
barking the trees and heavy branches, a process which, 
of course, kills the tree outright, or at least renders 
it valueless for a good many years. The bark is 
ground down to a coarse kind of powder ; it is then 
boiled, the juice or gum floating to the top, and is 
thus collected. But this process, although speedy, 
reaUy destroys the full value of the gum, which 
only realizes a low price when treated in this manner. 
The Government forbids this method to be adopted, 
as a matter of fact ; but the Indians, on the " get rich 
quick " principle, practise it all the same. The balsam, 
as seen in the market, looks like a thick, fatty, viscid 
resin, of a deep brown or black colour, and emitting 
a dehcious odour. 

The analysis is — Cynamic acid, 46 ; resin, 32 ; ben- 
zylic alcohol, 20, per cent. Balsam is used in making 
perfumery and soaps, and as an imguent ; while for 
asthma and other pectoral complaints its odour is 
considered very beneficial. 



244 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

The personal appearance of tlie Salvadorean peasant, 
as will be seen from tlie group shown in the photo- 
graph given, is unquestionably an agreeable one. The 
men are short in stature as a rule, but they possess 
regular and amiable features — those who are not of 
the pronounced negro type ; while the women are also 
usually physically attractive, especially when young. 

In regard to native costume, in the villages and 
smaller towns the men still wear the same attire as 
they have adopted for some hundred years past — 
namely, loose and baggy trousers of cotton spun and 
woven locally, mostly on the native hand-looms ; a 
shapeless coat or loose jacket of the same material ; 
and a large palm-leaf hat without any ribbon, binding, 
or other ornamentation. The women's ordinary attire 
consists of a dark blue cotton or cloth woven skirt, 
a loose cotton blouse with very short sleeves, and the 
native shawl worn gracefully over the head. To-day 
many affect the European style of costume, and almost 
generally they do so in the Capital and the larger 
towns. 

The Indians are very domesticated, and are naturally 
of an affectionate and amiable disposition. It is quite 
a common occurrence to find several generations living 
together in one small but cleanly-kept hut, married 
and single members of the family occupying the same 
room, the oldest member — grandfather or great-grand- 
father — being much deferred to, and, as a rule, govern- 
ing his extensive family with a firm but gentle hand. 
Parental authority is greatly respected in this country 
among the natives, and family life is often found very 
beautiful in some respects, offering, indeed, a marked 
contrast to what one finds existing in European 
countries, especially in England, among the working 
classes of the population. 



DOMESTIC LIFE 245 

The Indian inhabitants of Salvador are supposed to 
be lineal descendants of the Nahwals, whose other 
branch are fonnd in Mexico and Guatemala. Certainly 
there is a strong connection both in their physical 
attributes and their ancient dialects. Naturally, the 
aboriginal population has been much modified by 
nearly four centuries of contact with the whites, and 
an almost equally long subjugation to the Spanish 
rule. Nevertheless there are some towns in the 
Republic which to-day retain their primitive customs, 
and in such, to all appearances, the aboriginal blood 
has undergone scarcely any, if indeed the slightest, 
intermixture. In most places, however, the original 
language has fallen into disuse, or merely a few 
words, which have also been partially adopted by the 
whites, are retained. The original names of places 
have in some localities been preserved with the 
greatest tenacity, and afford a sure guide in defining 
the extent of territory over which the various aboriginal 
nations have been spread. 

I have visited several of the towns situated in the 
neighbourhood of Sonsonate, where the inhabitants are 
almost exclusively Indians, and I was then told that the 
language which they habitually speak to one another 
is also aboriginal. So curiously attached are some of 
these people to their ancient speech and government 
that in the year of 1832 a number of the inhabitants 
of San Vicente arose in revolt against the new 
government which was then imposed, and attempted 
to restore their ancient dominion, at the same time 
threatening to kill all the whites as well as everyone 
showing a trace of European blood in their veins. 

The new census of the country will have been taken 
on July 1, 1911 (too late for inclusion in this volume. 



^46 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

which will have gone to press), in accordance with 
instructions of the President, the officers engaged 
being attached to the General Bureau of Statistics, 
Every effort has been made to render the returns in 
as accurate a form and as complete as possible. The 
present popiilation, according to the statistics of 1910, 
showed that the number of inhabitants stood at 
1,084,850, of whom some 200,000 were foreigners. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

Departments — Capital cities — Population — Districts — Salvador Depart'' 
ment — City of San Salvador — Situation — Surroundings — Destruction 
in 1854 by earthquake — Description of catastrophe — Loss of life 
actually small — Evacuation of city — Recuperative faculty of the 
people. 

The Republic of Salvador is divided into 14 Depart- 
ments, which are again subdivided into 31 districts, 
27 cities, 51 towns, 164 villages, and 215 hamlets. 
The following table shows the names of such Depart- 
ments, with their respective capital cities, their 
population, exclusive of foreigners, and the number of 
districts which they contain : 







Population. 




Departments. 


Capital Cities. 






Number of 
Districts. 


Capitals, 


Depart- 
ments. 


San Salvador 


San Salvador 


32,000 


65,000 


3 


La Libertad 


New San Salvador 


11,000 


49,000 


2 


Sonsonate 


Sonsonate 


11,500 


41,500 


2 


Ahuachapan 


Ahuachapan 


12,000 


37,000 


2 


Santa Ana 


Santa Ana 


33,750 


80,500 


3 


Chalatenango 


Chalatenango 


6,000 


54,000 


2 


Cuscatlan 


Cojutepeque 


8,000 


62,000 


2 


Cabanas 


Sensuntepeque 


10,000 


35,000 


2 


San Vicente 


San Vicente 


11,000 


40,500 


2 


La Paz 


Zacatecoluca 


6,500 


70,000 


2 


Usulutan 


Usulutan 


6,000 


42,000 


2 


San Miguel 


San Miguel 


23,000 


60,000 


2 


Morozan 


Gotera 


3,100 


35,100 


3 


La Union 


La Union 

* Total ... 


3,700 


35,700 


2 


177,550 


707,300 





* The above statistics are out of date ; the present population of the 
Republic of Salvador is estimated at 1,200,000. 

247 



248 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Department of San Salvador. 

Cities. — San Salvador, Tonacatepeque (2). 

Towns. — Mejicanos, Apopa, Nejapa, Santo Tomas, 
Panchimalco (5). 

This was one of the first of the original divisions 
into which the Republic was divided in the year 1821, 
at which period the separation from the neighbouring 
kingdom of Guatemala took place. San Salvador is 
bounded on the north by the Departments of Chala- 
tenango and Cuscatlan, on the east by Cuscatlan and 
La Paz, on the south by La Libertad and La Paz, and 
on the west by La Libertad. A great variety of 
scenery is met with, and no portion of the country can 
be described as anything but beautiful and romantic. 
In the southern part is encountered the rugged and 
picturesque coastal range of mountains ; the central 
portion is broken up into a number of small, fertile 
valleys of surprising scenic beauty and fertility ; while 
the northern section is covered with hills, which, 
although always green, are destitute of large trees, 
The Department contains two volcanoes — -San Salvador, 
or Quezaltepeque, as the Indians name it, and Ilopango, 
which is situated upon a lake bearing the same name. 
Surrounding the capital are an immense number of 
prosperous Jincas, or agricultural estates, market- 
gardens, and great stretches of tobacco, coffee, sugar, 
rice, corn and bean plantations. The whole popula- 
tion are engaged in these industries, the amount of 
labour necessary being abundantly supplied, and to 
all appearances the people seem extremely prosperous 
and contented. I failed, indeed, to observe any signs 
of either poverty or disorderliness, while, on the 
contrary, nearly everyone encountered appeared 



SAN SALVADOR 9A9 

merry, well fed, and decently dressed. Tliere is little 
reason to suppose that tliese evidences were deceptive. 

In spite of tlie fact that San Salvador has been 
visited by so many different volcanic eruptions, it has 
really suffered less from earthquakes or their effects 
than either Costa Rica or Guatemala, its immediate 
neighbours. There are still living in Salvador those 
who remember and speak of the great seismic catas- 
trophe which befell the Capital City in the month of 
April, 1854, by which that place was almost com- 
pletely ruined. Previous to this catastrophe, the city, 
in point of size and importance, had ranked third in 
Central America, Guatemala City, in the State of the 
same name, being first, and Leon, in Nicaragua, 
second. In regard to the first named, Guatemala 
City still remains the capital of its State ; but Leon, 
although ranking as the largest city in the Republic 
of Nicaragua, has had to yield to Managua the pride 
of place as capital and seat of Government. 

The name of "San Salvador" was chosen by its 
pious but pitiless founder, Don Jorge de Alvarado, 
who conquered the territory for the Spanish Govern- 
ment after Columbus had located it, in comimemoration 
of his final decisive victory over the Indians of Cus- 
catlan, which battle was gained on the eve of the 
festival of San Salvador. During the long dominion 
of Spain in South and Central America, the city was 
the seat of the Governor, or Intendente, of the province 
of San Salvador, who, again, was subservient to the 
Captain-General of Guatemala. After its independence 
San Salvador became the capital of the new State, and 
it was early distinguished for its thorough devotion 
to the principles of the Liberal party in Central 
America. 



250 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Even as far back as 1853, a notable writer of the 
day who was travelling in Salvador described the city 
as " a very beautiful town," and also spoke of the 
general intelligence, the industry, and the enterprise 
of its inhabitants, who, in his opinion, " surpassed in 
these respects the people of any of the other large 
towns in Central America." This visitor, as are all 
who sojourn for any length of time in San Salvador, 
became much impressed by the picturesque position 
of the city, which, as already indicated, lies in the 
midst of a broad but elevated plain, situated on the 
summit of a high tableland or coast range of moun- 
tains, which intervene between the valley of the River 
Lempa and the Pacific. 

By barometrical admeasurement, San Salvador lies 
2,115 feet above the sea. As a consequence, its climate 
is found pleasantly cool as compared with that of coast 
aUuvians, although unfavourably modified in this 
respect by a low range of hills on the southern border 
of the plain, which shuts off the full benefit of the 
sea-breeze. Were it not for this obstacle, the winds 
blowing from the ocean, which is only twenty miles 
distant, would reach the city. As an indication of the 
kind of temperature one meets with, it may be said 
that in August the maximum of temperature rarely 
exceeds 80° Fahrenheit, the minimum 70°, and the 
mean average 76*3°, which, as wiU be generally recog- 
nized, constitutes a delightful climate. 

The hills which surround the plain of San Salvador 
are covered with verdure, which keeps its colour and 
freshness owing to the heavy dews which fall and the 
absence of dust, while a fair amoimt of rain can always 
be depended upon. 

Not more than three miles to the westward of the 



EARTHQUAKE OF 1854 251 

Capital City, and watching over it like a gigantic 
sentinel, stands the magnificent volcano of San Salva- 
dor. In this respect one is reminded of some other 
Spanish-American cities, such as La Paz in Bolivia, 
with the superb Misti ; and, again, of Mexico City, 
with its two ever-watchful volcanic guardians — Ixtac- 
cihuatl, which stands 16,060 feet in height, and 
Popocatepetl, which towers to 17,782 feet in the air. 
The cone of San Salvador volcano, which rises on the 
northern border or edge of the crater, is, however, 
approximately but 8,000 feet in height. 

Some fifty or sixty years ago San Salvador, judging 
from contemporary pictures, must have been even 
more charming in appearance than it is to-day ; then 
its population, however, scarcely exceeded 25,000. 
With the exception of the central and paved part of 
the city, it was eminently sylvan, being literally 
embowered in masses of tropical fruit-trees. The 
red-roofed dwellings, closely shut in with evergreen 
hedges of cactus, shadowed over by palm and orange 
trees, with a dense background of broad-leaved plan- 
tains, almost sinking beneath their heavy clusters of 
rich golden fruit, must have presented a delightful 
scenic picture, at once romantic and peaceful. 

From contemporary reports, it is pitiful to read that 
this exquisite scene was subsequently completely 
devastated in the brief space of ten seconds, for pre- 
cisely that period elapsed between the beginning and 
I the end of the awful earthquake of April 16, 1854. I 
! have been shown pictures of the ill-fated city which 
were painted a year or two before the disaster, as well 
as one which showed San Salvador as it stood in 1839, 
1 the date of a previous similar disaster. The appear- 
ance in both cases was singularly attractive in regard 



25^ SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

to tlie character of the buildings and their scenic 
surroundings. In the freshness of their affliction 
the inhabitants determined never again to return to 
the city, but, as history has proved, they did so in 
exactly the same manner as the ever - faithful in- 
habitants of Mount Vesuvius have returned again and 
again to the scene of their numerous previous mis- 
fortunes. The people of Guatemala vp-ere somewhat 
v^iser. Soon after 1773 they deserted their capital, 
which stood at the foot of the volcanoes Agua and 
Fuego (Water and Fire), and which was overwhelmed 
by a volcanic eruption, for they then built themselves 
a new place of abode, which is the present handsome 
city and Capital of the Republic. 

I have been afforded the following interesting 
account of the destruction of San Salvador, a descrip- 
tion which was published in a small Government 
organ dated May 2, 1854, and which provides so 
graphic a description of what occurred that I make no 
apology for reproducing it in these pages. 

The chronicler of that day says : 

"The night of April 16, 1854, will ever be one of sad and 
bitter memory to the people of Salvador. On that unfortunate 
night our happy and beautiful capital was made a heap of 
ruins. Movements of the earth were felt on the morning of 
Holy Thursday, preceded by sounds like the rolling of heavy 
artillery over pavements, and like distant thunder. The 
people were a little alarmed in consequence of this phe- 
nomenon, but it did not prevent them from meeting in the 
churches to celebrate the solemnities of the day. On Saturday 
all was quiet, and confidence was restored. The people of 
the neighbourhood assembled as usual to celebrate the Pass- 
over. The night of Saturday was quiet, so also was the whole 
of Sunday. The heat, it is true, was considerable, but the 
atmosphere was calm and serene. For the first three hours 



EARTHQUAKE OF 1854 253 

of the evening there was nothing of unusual occurrence, but 
at half-past nine a severe shock of an earthquake, occurring 
without the usual preliminary noises, alarmed the whole city. 
*Many families left their houses and made encampments in the 
public squares, while others prepared to pass the night in 
their respective courtyards. 

" Finally, at ten minutes to eleven, without further pre- 

imonition of any kind, the earth began to heave and tremble 

with such fearful force that in ten seconds the entire city was 

prostrated. The crashing of houses and churches stunned 

'the ears of the terrified inhabitants, while a cloud of dust from 

the falling ruins enveloped them in a pall of impenetrable 

i darkness. Not a drop of water could be got to relieve the 

half-choked and the suffocating, for the wells and fountains 

were filled up or made dry. The clock-tower of the cathedral 

carried a great part of that edifice with it in its fall. The 

towers of the church of San Francisco crashed down upon the 

episcopal oratory and part of the palace. The Church of Santo 

Domingo was buried beneath its towers, and the College of 

the Assumption was entirely ruined. The new and beautiful 

edifice of the University was demolished. The Church of the 

I Merced separated in the centre, and its walls fell outward to 

I the ground. Of the private houses, a few were left standing, 

but all were rendered uninhabitable. It is worthy of remark 

that the walls left standing are old ones ; all those of modern 

■ construction have fallen. The public edifices of the Grovern- 

! ment and the city shared in the common destruction. 

" The devastation was effected, as we have said, in the first 
ten seconds; for although the succeeding shocks were tre- 
mendous, and accompanied by fearful rumblings beneath our 
feet, they had comparatively trifling results, for the reason 
that the first jar left but little for their ravages. 

" Solemn and terrible was the picture presented, on the 
dark, funereal night, of a whole people clustering in the plazas, 
and, on their knees, crying with loud voices to Heaven for 
mercy, or in agonizing accents calling for their children and 
their friends, whom they believed to be buried beneath the 
ruins. A heaven opaque and ominous; a movement of the 



254 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

earth rapid and unequal, causing a terror indescribable; an 
intense sulphurous odour filling the atmosphere, and indicating 
an approaching eruption of the volcano; streets filled with 
ruins or overhung by threatening walls ; a suffocating cloud 
of dust, almost rendering respiration impossible — such was 
the spectacle presented by the unhappy city on that memorable 
and awful night. 

"A hundred boys were shut up in the college, many 
invalids crowded the hospitals, and the barracks were full 
of soldiers. The sense of the catastrophe which must have 
befallen them gave poignancy to the first moments of reflection 
after the earthquake was over. It was believed that at least 
a fourth part of the inhabitants had been buried beneath the 
ruins. The members of the Grovernment hastened to ascertain 
as far as practicable the extent of the catastrophe, and to 
quiet the public mind. It was found that the loss of life had 
been much less than was supposed, and it now appears that 
the number of the killed will not exceed one hundred, and of 
wounded fifty. Among the latter is the Bishop, who received 
a severe blow on the head, the late President, Senor Duenas, 
a daughter of the President, and the wife of the Secretary of 
the Legislative Chambers, the latter severely. 

"Fortunately, the earthquake has not been followed by 
rains, which gives an opportunity to disinter the public 
archives, as also many of the valuables contained in the 
dwellings of the citizens. 

" The movements of the earth still continue with strong 
shocks, and the people, fearing a general swallowing up of the 
site of the city, or that it may be buried under some sudden 
eruption of the volcano, are hastening away, taking with them 
their household gods, the sweet memories of their infancy, 
and their domestic animals — perhaps the only property left 
for the support of their families — exclaiming with Yirgil : 
' Nos patrise fines et dulcia linquimus arva.' " 

I have witnessed scenes in Valparaiso, in San 
Francisco, and in Kingston, Jamaica, almost precisely 
similar to these so graphically portrayed ; but in all 



EARTHQUAKE OF 1854 255 

these cases the loss of life was considerably greater 
than occurred in San Salvador. To-day the capital of 
the Republic bears not a single trace of the disaster, 
nor yet of some subsequent visitations ; for the recu- 
perative faculties of these optimistic peoples are as 
astonishing as they are thorough and instantaneous in 
the manner in which they assert themselves. 



CHAPTER XIX 

City of San Salvador — San Salvador as place of residence — Theatres — 
Parks — Streets — Hotels — Domestic servants — Hospitality of residents 
— Societies and associations — Educational establishments — Govern- 
ment buildings — Religion and churches — Casino — Hospitals and 
institutions — Disastrous conflagrations — Public monuments. 

There are few more pleasant cities as a place of 
residence for all the year round tlian San Salvador. 
The climate is very agreeable, while the situation of the 
city, scenically speaking, is exceptionally beautiful, 
being located as it is 2,115 feet above the level of the 
sea in the valley of Cuscatlan, or, as it is called in 
the vernacular, " Valle de las Hamacas " (the Vale of 
the Hammocks). This district has been so named, I 
understand, because it lies directly in the line of the 
severest earthquake action, and has many times in 
the past been " rocked and swung " by the waves of 
movement, and which have been rendered unusually 
destructive by the reflex action of the high hills which 
half encircle the place. 

San Salvador was founded, as already observed, by 
Don Jorge de Alvarado, brother of the famous Spanish 
conqueror, Don Pedro de Alvarado, on April 4, 1543, 
and from 1834 to 1839 it was the capital of the new 
Republic, a dignity which was in later years trans- 
ferred to the city of San Vicente ; while Cojutepeque 
upon three separate occasions, as pointed out more 
fully elsewhere, was also used as the Federal Capital. 

256 



SANTA TECLA 257 

In the year 1840, liowever, San Salvador became the 
designated metropolis, and has since remained so. 
Here are located all the Government Departments, as 
well as the Supreme Civil and Military Courts, in 
addition to the headquarters of the Ecclesiastical 
Government. 

In the year 1854, the city having been ruined, 
as we have seen, the Government as a consequence 
ordered the founding of Nueva San Salvador, or Santa 
Tecla, which lies some eight miles to the south-west, 
and about 800 feet higher, as a city of refuge. To 
this place many families transferred their homes, and 
it is now a very prosperous place, with a population 
exceeding 11,000 inhabitants. Many good people of 
San Salvador, however, were not so much discouraged 
by their misfortune after all, and they very pluckily 
rebuilt the city, only, however, to again see it laid low 
by the even greater catastrophe of March 19, 1873. 
Gradually, and for the third time, this city rose from 
its ruins, and there are to-day no traces in its streets 
of any of the various disasters which have visited it. 

San Salvador is altogether a well-constructed and 
even a handsome city, with several notable public 
buildings which would grace any European capital. 
Among these are the Casa Blanca, the Artillery 
Barracks, the National Institute, the University, the 
Theatre, the Market, the Orphans' Home, the Poly- 
* technic School, the Normal School, the new Cathedral, 
and a large number of other handsome churches. 

The Government have constructed a handsome 
official building in the city of San Salvador, to provide 
thoroughly up-to-date and modern quarters for the 
various Government Departments, in addition to which 
it adds considerable beauty to the Capital City. This 

17 



'258 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

edifice is built in tlie Continental style of arciiitecture, 
and has been occupied for some two years past. 

There are also many attractive private residences, con- 
sisting of one or two stories, with handsome interiors and 
beautiful gardens. The usual style of building adopted 
is the adobe house, with tiled roof ; and what lends 
particular attraction to the appearance of the city is the 
variety of the architecture adopted for both private 
and public buildings ; additionally, a large number 
of plazas, parks, and open spaces, prevent anything 
approaching an appearance of monotony. The whole 
city is extremely well lighted by electricity, the roads 
are well paved and as well maintained, while the 
drainage is excellent. The material of which the 
sidewalks are built consists mostly of large slabs of 
the basaltic rock, which is freely and cheaply quarried 
from the famous Guarumdl Canon. 

This elegance and good taste are displayed almost 
generally in the city of Salvador regarding the arrange- 
ment of the public parks and gardens, as well as in 
connection with the private residences of the well-to- 
do inhabitants. The beautiful Parque Bolivar, which 
was completed and opened to the public in January, 
1881, and the no less attractive Parque Barrios, which 
was inaugurated in the same month of 1901, and for 
a second time in 1909, are cases in point. 

The Parque Duefias is centrally situated, and is a 
favourite rendezvous with all classes. In the Parque 
Morazdn is to be seen the handsome monument erected 
in 1882 to the hero of the same name. The attractive 
thoroughfare known as Avenida de la Independencia 
was inaugurated in December, 1901, and the Central 
Markets in October, 1887. The new Cathedral, com- 
menced in June, 1881, was completed and solemnly 



TT" 




flt'^—'p^' — ^- 




THE CHURCH 259 

consecrated seven years later — namely, in June of 
1888. It is a fine edifice, and contains some handsome 
ecclesiastical plate and beautiful mural decorations. 

The Cathedral is altogether a fine specimen of Latin- 
American ecclesiastical architecture, but is distin- 
guished from many others of the same period by the 
feature of pointed arches, instead of the usual square 
or rounded arches usually prevailing in this class of 
buildings. It is dedicated to the patron saint of 
Salvador. 

The prevailing religion in the Republic, as a natural 
consequence of the long ascendancy of the Spanish 
domination, is Roman Catholic. Previous to the 
Liberal revolution of 1871 no other kind of religion 
was tolerated. Since then, and to-day, the greatest 
freedom and toleration prevail in all religious matters ; 
while so far has the hand of reform stretched that the 
cemeteries are freed from the control of the clergy ; 
civil marriages are legalized without the addition of 
any religious ceremony ; education is non-clerical, 
and all monastic institutions have been abolished. 
All these changes are embodied in the Constitution 
promulgated on August 13, 1886, and under which 
the country is governed to-day. Nevertheless, the 
Church is greatly respected by the people, and the 
attendances at Mass are invariably large and repre- 
sentative. The bishopric of San Salvador was created 
in 1842. 

A very handsome thoroughfare is Santa Tecla Avenue, 
a broad and beautifully laid-out thoroughfare, linking 
up this favourite residential place with the City of 
Santa Tecla, locally known as the " City of Flowers." 
Already one of the most favourite siiburbs, it is 
growing rapidly in favour as a residential quarter 



S60 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

with the people of San Salvador, being situated from 
it only a few miles distant. 

The tramway system is as yet only at the com- 
mencement of its development, and electricity has yet 
to play an important part in its equipment. There 
are two companies running regular services of cars, 
one being the Concepcion and Western Tramway 
Company, which sends out its cars at intervals of 
ten minutes during the busiest parts of the day, and 
conducts a service till fairly late at night. Usually, 
however, the last cars have gone back to the garage 
before theatre-goers have left their places of enter- 
tainment. Fortunately, the fares demanded by the 
local Jehus are reasonable, and it is therefore an easy 
matter for belated passengers to reach home. 

The new theatre, which will soon adorn the city in 
place of that which was burned down last year, should 
form a handsome addition to the architecture of San 
Salvador. The Municipality very wisely invited com- 
petition for erecting and designing the building, which 
is to have a seating capacity of some 1,200. The 
structure is to be equipped with the latest improve- 
ments and appliances, and will be made as fireproof 
and as earthquake-proof as modern science can effect. 
The cost will be between 800,000 and 1,200,000 
francs, or, say, £32,000 and £48,000. All construc- 
tion materials are to be imported free of duty, which 
should lessen the cost immensely. Two prizes were 
offered, of 800 francs (£32) and 400 francs (£16) 
respectively, for the best plans, and when the last day 
for sending these in — namely, March 15, 1911 — had 
passed, the judges had several handsome designs to 
choose from. 
In the month of March last the number of com- 



HOTELS 261 

petitive plans which, were sent in to the Department 
of Fomento for the new National Theatre in the 
capital amounted to thirteen, of which three came 
from Paris, one from New Orleans, one from Canada, 
four from San Salvador, one from Monaco, one from 
Italy, and others from New York. The whole of the 
designs were exhibited in a public gallery. 

While one may admit freely that the hotels in 
Salvador are conducted for the most part upon in- 
finitely better lines than are those in the neighbouring 
Republic of Guatemala — which, indeed, may be pro- 
nounced, without undue harshness, as possessing about 
the worst in Central America — the Salvadorean hos- 
telries are not as yet absolutely perfect. In this 
regard, however, it is only fair to remember the 
extreme difficulties which the proprietors are called 
upon to face. The servant problem is, perhaps, the 
hardest of all, and there is hardly one, among the 
many hotel managers of various nationalities with 
whom I discussed matters, but who confessed to me 
that he was weary to death of his efforts to conduct 
his business with the aid of native domestics. I have 
myself upon different occasions been witness to the 
curiously perverse nature of some of these servants ; 
when, like others, I have been travelling through or 
resident in the interior of the country, I have likewise 
observed their spirit of robust independence. 

Where the cost of living is so low, and the question 
of supply and demand in regard to domestic service 
is so overwhelmingly in favour of the latter, anything 
like efficient service is practically impossible to find. 
The domestic servants in Salvador are recruited almost 
entirely from among the Indians ; and while these 
latter are by no means lacking in intelligence, and 



262 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

can by kind treatment be won to some degree of 
fidelity, tbey are naturally slow, and even indolent, 
wbile an extreme sensitiveness and spirit of resent- 
ment at once asserts itself should blame or abuse be 
offered by the employer. Under such circumstances, 
or even for less provocation, the domestic will forth- 
with take leave, and even forfeit the few shillings 
in wages that may be due. Usually, however, the 
wages question is in favour of the servant, since 
payment has probably been anticipated, and the 
domestic is the debtor, and not the creditor, of the 
master. This hold, therefore, is a somewhat feeble 
one to depend upon, and in nine cases out of ten fails 
to apply. 

There are a number of European and native families 
who possess the traditional " treasure " in the person 
of an old and faithful retainer ; but not infrequently 
the history of such "treasure," when probed, shows 
that the employer is over-indulgent, being fearful of 
losing the much-prized services of the domestic in 
question, permits all kinds of privileges, and submits 
to all sorts of exactions, in order to preserve peace in 
the household. Perhaps it may be good policy to do 
so ; but I have witnessed instances of downright 
tryanny upon the part of some native servants — not 
by any means confined to Salvador — which, in my 
opinion at least, could never have been warranted, 
and never should have been condoned, no matter how 
valuable the services rendered may have been. The 
absolute helplessness of the lady of the house may be 
accepted as some excuse, but peace may be purchased 
at too high a price, and in the instances which I have 
in mind I fancy such was the case. But, then, I was 
not personally concerned in the results, and therefore 



THEATRES 263 

my judgment may be at fault, and even regarded as 
valueless. 

Salvador seems to be a particularly favourite 
visiting-place with itinerant theatrical companies. All 
the year round, practically, a theatrical troupe of some 
kind may be foimd touring the country, which is 
usually included, with Guatemala, Panama, and Costa 
Rica, in the " Central American " road programme. 
x\s a general rule, however, the companies are of a 
somewhat indifferent quality — poor Italians and 
Spaniards, whose precarious existence often excites 
commiseration from even the hard-hearted. It is 
pitiable to see them upon occasions moving from 
State to State and from town to town — lean, hungry, 
dirty, and depressed in spirits, as they well may be ; 
women and children, many of the latter being born on 
the road, having to undergo very great physical priva- 
tions and serious personal inconveniences. The men, 
probably more habituated to the roughness of life, 
mostly accept their hard lot with philosophy and 
resignation ; but it is cruelly severe upon the women 
and little children. The public of Salvador are some- 
what capricious in their support of the different 
theatrical companies, and at times the playhouses are 
practically empty, and even the cheaper portions 
deserted. 

It was in the month of January, 1910, that the City 
of San Salvador lost its handsome Teatro Nacional 
through fire — a disaster which was caused, it being- 
charged, by incendiarism, although this has never been 
proved. There is at present but one other place of 
entertainment — El Teatro Moderno, belonging to the 
same proprietary, and which is but a large-sized barn, 
capable of accommodating at the most some 200 people. 



1 



264 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

It was used originally for cinematograph exhibitions, 
which, by-the-by, with all Latin-Americans wonld 
seem to be a very popular and profitable form of 
entertainment. The place is structurally fit for no: 
other sort of performance, but is now perforce being ' 
utilized for dramatic and musical representations. 

In few cities of its size will be found a larger number 
of Societies than San Salvador possesses, these associa- 
tions being representative not only of various classes 
of organized labour, but of literature, music, art, 
religion, science, and even insurance. Among those 
which have their headquarters in the Capital are — 
" Sociedad Union Nacional de Amigos," " Sociedad 
Estudiantil Minerva," " Sociedad Carlos F. Dardano," 
" Sociedad de Medicina Emilio Alvarez," " Academia de 
Ciencias, Letras y Artes de El Salvador," " Sociedad 
Pedag6gica Francisco Men^ndez," "Sociedad de 
Artesanos La Concordia," " Sociedad de Obreros Ge- 
rado Barrios," " Sociedad La Buena Prensa," " Sociedad 
de Artesanos del Salvador," "Sociedad Co-operativa El 
Ahorro," " Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura," " Logia 
Masonica." 

The Provinces have also their respective associa- 
tions, many possessing a long and influential subscrip- 
tion list ; among the most prominent may be mentioned : 
" Sociedad de Obreros " and " Sociedad literaria Jose 
Cecilio del Valle," both having their headquarters in 
Santa Ana ; " Sociedad de Obreros El Porvenir," in 
Santa Tecla ; " Sociedad de Obreros Rafael Campo," 
at Sonsonate ; " Club Unionista," at Ahuachapan ; 
" Sociedad de Obreros " and " Logia Masonica," at 
Cojutepeque ; " Sociedad de Obreros," at Sensunta- 
peque ; and "Sociedad La Proteccion," at Zacatecoluca. 

The principal educational establishments of the 



CHARITIES 265 

Republic are located in the Capital, and comprise tlie 
National University, of which. Dr. Hermdgenes Alvarado 
is the Deacon and Dr. Adrian Garcia is the Secretary ; 
the National Institute, of which Dr. Dario Gonzalez is 
the Director ; the National Library, of which Don 
Francisco Gavidia is the Director ; and the Municipal 
Library, of which Dr. Don Jos^ Dols Corpeno is the 
Director. There are in addition the Astronomical and 
Meteorological Observatory, directed by Dr. Santiago 
I. Barberena, and the Museum and Botanical Gardens, 
both under the direction of Dr. David J. Guzmdn. 

Among the many excellent charitable institutions of 
which the Capital is possessed are the Orphans' 
Asylum, directed by Don Francisco Escobar ; the Sara 
Asylum, directed by Dr. Alfonso Quifionez ; the 
Orphans' Hospital, which is under the same control as 
the Asylum of that name ; and the well-known Hospital 
Resales, which is controlled by a number of the most 
eminent medical men in the Republic. It is an 
admirably-managed institution, and has effected a 
great deal of sound charity since its inauguration some 
years ago. 

A great amount of unobtrusive but sound charity 
and benevolence are practised in Salvador. The 
people as a whole are, perhaps, not very wealthy in the 
accepted sense of the word, and there are probably few 
great family fortunes to be found there ; while I was 
never fortunate enough to come across a full-blown 
millionaire — at all events, considered in sterling money. 
On the other hand, there are many very well-to-do 
families, many handsome privately-owned properties, 
and several highly-prosperous businesses, especially 
among the coffee and sugar planters. No doubt in 
the halcyon days of the indigo industry Salvador 



^66 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

could boast of many very opulent residents ; but 
with the invention of the aniline dyes much of this 
indigo wealth passed away. The wide diffusion of 
charity and benevolence is, therefore, all the more 
noteworthy and all the more commendable. 

Most of the charitable institutions are not alone the 
creation, but remain the special care, of the Govern- 
ment, and successive Presidents have very properly 
devoted both their personal attention and the country's 
funds to the maintenance of these institutions. The 
charge of these charities is in the hands of the 
Minister of Education, Public Works and Benevolence. 
I visited several of the hospitals during my stay in the 
coimtry, and I was pleasurably impressed with their 
generally cheerful and always cleanly appearance. 

The foremost institution of this kind is the magnifi- 
cent building presented, with its entire equipment, 
to the nation by the late Don Jos^ Resales, a distin- 
guished and very wealthy Salvadorean, who not only 
sustained the hospital during his lifetime, but be- 
queathed to its funds no less than $4,000,000. The 
institution bears the name of its generous founder, and 
it is admirably conducted in every way, A large staff 
of competent physicians and a full body of male and 
female nurses are always maintained, and as a rule the 
hospital is very well patronized, the kindness and the 
skill of the authorities having obtained a wide 
notoriety. The Ros^les is, however, but one of several 
similar institutions, the Govermnent having of late 
years added similar necessary buildings to the towns 
of Santa Ana, Sonsonate, Ahuachapdn, Santa Tecla, 
Zacatecoluca, San Vicente, San Miguel, Alegria, 
Chalatenango and La Uni6n. It is difficult to speak 
too highly of the thoroughly efficient manner in which 



HOSPITALS 267 

most of these establislunents are maintained ; and 
among the many patients wliom I saw, and with, whom 
I conversed, I met with not one who had anything but 
praise and gratitude to express for the benefits which 
had been received. 

As an evidence of the use to which these institu- 
tions are put, I am able to say that during the year 
of 1892 some 3,198 patients were treated, of whom 
2,798 were discharged completely cured, 203 died, 
and the rest remained under treatment. The total 
amount expended in this year was a little over 
$81,000. Including all of the hospitals established 
throughout the coimtry, there are annually admitted 
and treated about 8,000 patients, of whom an average 
of 8 per cent. die. This cannot be considered a high 
rate of mortality, considering the climate and the 
many tropical diseases which have to be treated. 

In the vicinity of San Salvador, upon a beautifully- 
situated and very healthful spot, has been established 
a tuberculosis Sanatorium. Here the open-air treat- 
ment is employed in conformity with the latest 
recognized therapeutic and hygienic methods for the 
alleviation and cure of consumption, which, as in 
Mexico, is unfortunately a common complaint. The 
expenses of this Sanatorium are met by appropriations 
by the Federal and Municipal authorities ; by contri- 
butions from industrial companies, which are usually 
very open-handed in such matters ; and by voluntary 
donations from benevolent people and institutions. A 
library is maintained for the use of the patients, and 
all possible measures are employed to mitigate the 
sad condition of resident invalids. So far, I under- 
stand, the Sanatorium is free from debt, and it is so 
excellently managed an institution, and is productive 



268 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



of so much real good, that it is sincerely to be hoped 
that it may remain so. 

How admirable have been the attempts made, and 
how successful the results achieved, to overcome the 
ravages of tuberculosis, are best shown by the follow- 
ing comparative statistics, which give the figures for 
Spanish-American towns : 



American Towns. 


Mortality per 
10,000 Inhabitants 


Lima (Peru) ... 


621 


Caracas (Venezuela) ... 


600 


Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 


38-0 


Santiago (Chile) 


38-0 


Havana (Cuba) 


32-7 


Montevideo (Uruguay) 


16-0 


Buenos Aires (Argentina) 


14-2 


Mexico City (Mexico) ... 


140 


San Salvador (Salvador) 


13-7 



That Salvador should have the smallest number of 
deaths among all these Republics is a triumph for the 
medical faculty and for the Government, which have 
conjointly done so much towards the improvement of 
conditions. 

Many of the sanitary and clinical institutions in the 
Republic have medical schools or classes attached, and 
such are naturally much better equipped with special 
departments for the eye, ear, nose, throat and skin 
diseases. Fever hospitals are carefully segregated, 
and are most carefully controlled, with the idea of 
avoiding any epidemic breaking out. Many of the 
attendant physicians have studied in Europe and the 
United States, 

The Superior Council of Health, of which Don 
Tomas G. Palomo is President, has rendered im- 
portant services during the last two years. The 
Government is continually encouraging authorities to 




New Natioxai. Palace at Sax Salvador. 




• II i" "-'i • f liigiiaiitiaiii^if- -' i^-- 

Theatre at Santa Axa, DErAKT.MExr of Saxta Ana. 



HEALTH PROVISIONS 269 

persevere with their sanitary measures and to compel 
the public to follow the instructions periodically issued 
by the Superior Council, and to fulfil the rules laid 
down by the Code of Laws relating to health. In his 
report for the year 1907, the President of the Council 
has said : " In proportion as the sphere of action of 
the Council widens, so has its beneficial influence been 
remarked, especially in some places of the Republic, 
where formerly only the most rudhnentary laws of 
hygiene were known. Abeady a large majority of 
the municipal authorities are showing some aptitude 
in ameliorating the sanitary conditions of their respec- 
tive localities, and if things continue thus we shall 
soon arrive at the complete banishment of endemic 
maladies from certain districts of the Republic."^ 

In Salvador a pernicious kind of malaria is the 
predominating disease, and shows itself in different 
phases and manifestations. The Council has recom- 
mended several measures to minimize its effects ; but 
the result achieved does not altogether correspond to 
the efforts of the authorities, because, besides the 
heavy expenses of the sanitation works in many parts 
of the country, the majority of the people are opposed 
to all hygienic measures, and through poverty are 
condemned to live in small dwellings, which are badly 
ventilated and damp, and consequently unhealthy. 

In the Capital, at the beginning of the year 1907, 
and at the time of the mobihzation of the Army, 
several cases of cerebro-spinal meningitis presented 
themselves. Those soldiers who were afflicted were 
isolated during the march, first in a ward of the 
Resales Hospital, and afterwards m the Mihtary 
Sanatorium. This measure and others that the 
Council promptly ordered prevented any development 



270 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

of the epidemic. In tlie same mamier four cases of 
diphtheria presented themselves, and altogether, 
through different diseases, 1,598 deaths took place 
m San Salvador in that year. In the same period it 
recorded 2,147 births, giving as a net result an 
increase m population of 549 inhabitants. 

Cerebro-spinal meningitis also showed itself in 
Santa Ana and at San Pedro Nonualco, but the malady 
did not assume the character of a real epidemic. 
During the year 1908 a few cases of meningitis of a 
marked epidemic character were observed, but the 
efforts of the Cooncil secured the mastery over the 
disease. Unfortunately, at the end of the year 1909 
smaUpox broke out in the west of the Republic, 
principaUy in the Department of Santa Ana. 

The Council of Health immediately sent out the 
Director-General of Vaccination to the above-named 
Department with the necessary means to combat the 
smallpox. The disease spread, however, and con- 
tinued to show itself in different parts of the country, 
so that the Council was obliged to arrange for the 
estabhshment of lazarettos in Santa Ana, Candelaria, 
and Santiago de la Frontera, and also to nominate 
various travelling vaccinators for each of the Depart- 
ments, at the same time insisting upon sanitary cordons, 
and, in fact, taking aU the measures that the imminent 
peril demanded. There have been places quite 
mimime, and in the Capital not more than five cases 
appeared, all of which were immediately isolated. 

The Supreme Council of the Red Cross has 
upon all^ occasions collaborated in this campaign 
against disease, effective measures being undertaken by 
the authorities against the terrible malady, and greatly 
facihtating the furnishing of the necessary funds. 



VACCINATION 271 

The General Direction of Vaccination has its seat 
in the Capital, and is directed by Dr. Rodolfo B. 
Gonzalez. In connection with the Resales Hospital 
an Institution of Vaccination has been established, 
which is under the direction of Dr. Gustavo Baron. 
In normal times as many as a thousand tubes of 
vaccine are prepared monthly. The Institute of 
Vaccination in San Salvador, I may mention, is the 
first that has been established in Central America. 

The Council, notwithstanding the fact that it 
receives a large quantity of calf lymph, imports every 
fortnight further supplies of lymph from France and 
Switzerland, as a provision against the home supply 
becoming exhausted through any unforeseen circum- 
stance. In the year 1907 there were vaccinated in the 
Capital alone 1,597 men and 973 women, while in the 
Departments there were 4,667 men and 4,295 women, 
or a total of 11,532 vaccinated in this one year. 

If to these numbers are added 1,000 vaccinated by 
the Travelling Vaccinator of the Department of La 
Libertad, a total of 12,532 was reached — a figure 
which will be increased to at least 18,000 if is taken 
into account the fact that in many of the outlying 
districts the number of inoculations which were made 
by special vaccinators have not been accounted for. 

In the year 1908 the number of cases was doubled, 
so it appears that in all the Republic more than 
40,000 persons were vaccinated in one year. In the 
first months of 1910, in which vaccination was en- 
forced with some severity, even in the most remote 
hamlets, the majority of the inhabitants were vaccinated 
and revaccinated. In the ports, into which epidemic 
diseases are more easily introduced by foreign vessels 
arriving from different infected ports, the Council has 



S72 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

tinder its control several competent medical officers, 
who examine with, the most scrupulous exactness aU 
the steamers, and even the small boats, which arrive. 
By this means, up till now the much-dreaded yellow 
fever and bubonic plague, which have attacked 
many ports of South America, have not reached 
Salvador. 

Apart from the Hospitals, there are several Asylums 
for the Insane, the Blind and Orphans of both sexes. 
The inmates receive a thoroughly sound normal or 
primary education, being taught also carpentry, shoe- 
making, needlework, and many other useful occupa- 
tions and trades. Those who desire to study music 
or electric telegraphy as a profession are permitted, 
and even encouraged, to do so. These institutions in 
some cases are under the management of Sisters of 
Charity, and very well they seem to carry out their 
merciful duties. The Government supports also an 
Asyliun for the Aged Poor, and a similar institution 
for orphans, in addition to those which already exist. 

One of the most prominent members of the Sal- 
vadorean medical profession is Dr. Federico Yiidice, 
who enjoys an unusually large surgical practice. 
Dr. Yiidice has studied in Germany, and holds the 
highest diplomas of the German Faculty of Medicine, 
as well as in the United States, from which country 
he also received the most coveted diplomas in the 
profession. His consulting-rooms are frequently well 
filled, and his surgery and operating-room are replete 
with the latest improved surgical apparatus and 
equipment — in some cases more replete in the posses- 
sion of such scientific inventions than some of the 
hospitals of Europe. Although quite a young man, 
Dr. Yiidice is considered one of the leading physicians 



HOSPITALITY OF THE SALVADOREANS 273 

1 San Salvador, and undoubtedly lie has an excep- 
lonally brilliant career before bim. 

Due to tbe initiative of Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, 
be President, an important and representative Con- 
,Tess of Medical Scientists will assemble in San 
Salvador in November of tbis year. Dr. Tomas G-. 
^alomo will be tbe President of tbe Congress, Dr. 
benjamin Orozco tbe Vice-President. Among others 
rho will take part in the deliberations are — Dr. Jose 
Jerena, Jeronimo Puente, J. Max Olano, Estanislao 
/"an Severen, Enrique Gonzalez S., an eminent surgeon- 
lentist, and Gustavo S. Baron, who wiU act as 
reasurer. Dr. Pedro A. Villacorta, Dr. Miguel 
iPeralta L., and Dr. Rafael V. Castro, will act as joint 
secretaries. 

The ready hospitality which is extended to the 
■^tr anger sojourning for no matter how short a while 
in Salvador renders existence there exceptionally 
igreeable. While, like most Latin-Americans, far 
^om being effusive or indiscriminate in either their 
briendship or their offers of social entertainment, the 
Salvadoreans are always pleased to show courtesy and 
hospitality to those who are recommended or pre- 
sented to them, and to these fortunate individuals 
nothing is denied in the way of attention and con- 
sideration. San Salvador is especially kind to its 
foreign visitors, and to all who bear introductions, or 
who make friends upon their own account, the doors 
of the Casino Salvadoreno are readily open, this being 
a club which is well provided with most of the current 
literature, some of which is in English, and possesses 
many pleasant reading and writing rooms, as well as 
the usual complement of French billiard-tables. It is 
an orderly and well-managed establishment, and most 

18 



274 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

of tlie better-class Salvadoreans belong to it. A good, 
althongli small, library is attacbed, and tbis contains 
some valuable collections of statistical volumes and 
several works of reference. 

San Salvador bas been peculiarly unfortimate inlj 
regard to tbe number of serious conflagrations wbicb 
bave at various times afflicted tbat city, and witbin 
tbe last ten or eleven years no fewer tban five sucb l 
disasters bave overtaken it. In tbe montb of November, , 
1889, tbe Palacio Nacional was completely destroyed 
by fire, and, unfortunately, many valuable arcbives, , 
dating back into tbe early times of tbe Spaniards,! 
wben Salvador was still a colony, as well as a larg&i 
number of documents relating to tbe Federation, wer^ 
lost. In 1900 a second fire destroyed a large area inl 
tbe city, wberein were situated many of tbe principal 
mercantile bouses. In September, 1901, a tbird 
visitation of tbis kind destroyed tbe handsome build- 
ing of La Mansi6n de la Presidencia, as well as tbe 
barracks of La Guardia de Honor. In 1903 fire 
destroyed tbe entire building of tbe Casino Salva- 
doreno ; and in Marcb, 1908, tbe bandsome Zapote 
Barracks were seriously burned ; wbile, as recorded 
elsewbere, in 1910 tbe Teatro Nacional, and nearly tbe 
wbole block of buildings of wbicb it formed part, was 
entirely gutted. 

Like most of tbe Latin- American cities, San Salvador 
contains many very bandsome and appropriate monu- 
ments erected to tbe memory of its brave sons and 
distinguisbed citizens. Among tbese are tbe tasteful 
statues dedicated to tbe memory of Dr. Emilio Alvarez, 
a Colombian pbysician wbo rendered eminent services 
to bis adopted country ; anotber forms a tribute to 
General Gerardo Barrios, one of Salvador's greatest 



I 



PUBLIC MONUMENTS 275 

soldiers and patriots, and a third, a very fine work, is 
an equestrian statue of General Morazan, in the park 
which, bears his name. The monument of General 
Barrios is also an equestrian statue, the General being 
' shown seated upon a magnificent granite column of 
heroic proportions. 



CHAPTER XX 

Department of Chalatenango — Bich agricultural territories — Annual 
fair — Generally prosperous conditions — Department of Cuscatlan — 
City of Cojutepeque — Industries— Cigar factories — Volcanoes — Lake 
of Cojutepeque — Department of Cabanas — Scenic features — Feast of 
Santa Barbara — Department of San Vicente — Public buildings and 
roads. 

Department of Chalatenango. 

City. — Chalatenango (1). 

Towns. — Tejutla, San Ignacio, San Francisco, 
Morazan, San Rafael, and Citala (6). 

Fully two-thirds of this portion' of the country 
consist of mountain ranges, with long timber-covered 
spurs, very beautiful to the eye, running from their 
bases in every direction. The Department is bounded 
on the north by the Republic of Honduras ; on the 
east by the same Republic and the Department of 
Cabanas ; on the south by the Departments of 
Cabanas, Cuscatlan, San Salvador, and La Libertad ; 
and on the west by Santa Ana. The rich agricultural 
valley of the Lempa runs partly through this section, 
and many of the tributaries of that river water its 
ground. Immense tracts of agricultural territory are 
seen, upon which are grown successive crops of indigo, 
corn, rice, wheat, and beans. The several lofty chim- 
neys which are observed to be dotting the country for 
miles around point to the active manufacturing that 
goes on. These establishments comprise distilleries, 

276 



I 



CHALATENANGO 27T 

potteries, candle, cheese, and turpentine factories ; 
while a large commerce is also done by treating a 
kind of wax obtained from boiling the fruit of a 
certain shrub which grows wild in this country and 
in great abundance. Here, as in most of the parts of 
Salvador, general prosperity prevails ; one encoimters 
hardly any very poor persons, either in the streets or 
begging upon the roadsides. 

The chief city of this Department bears the same 
name, and it lies to the south-east of the lofty moun- 
tains of La Pefia and on the rivers Tamulasca and 
Colco. The elevation above sea-level is about 1,660 feet, 
while the distance from the Capital is a little over 
forty-five miles north-east. I should say that Chala- 
tenango is about the oldest native town in Salvador, 
and only in 1791 did foreigners and white natives com- 
mence to frequent it to any extent — these, it would 
seem, being sent there by the then Spanish Governor 
as a sort of punishment or exile. It would certainly 
be no punishment to abide there nowadays for a short 
while, since the surrounding country is remarkably 
beautiful, the people are very friendly and hospitable, 
and living there is absurdly cheap, judged fi'om 
European standards. The population scarcely exceeds 
6,000, and the whole of the Department probably boasts 
of no more than 54,000 or 55,000 inhabitants. 

It is at Chalatenango that is held annually on 
June 24, St. John the Baptist's Day, the most impor- 
tant and most popular Fair of the year. Upon this 
occasion the true native life of Salvadoreans, the 
quaint and picturesque costumes, and many articles 
of barter which never see the light at any other time, 
may be met with. Anyone travelling in Salvador at 
this period may be recommended to visit Ohalateuango, 



278 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

if only to witness tliis annual gathering, wliicli ii 
attended by people of every class from all parts of tlie ^ 
Eepublic. A more orderly or a happier crowd it would 
be difficult to meet with, and, what is more to the point, 
they form a particularly clean-looking crowd. The 
fact is that St. John the Baptist's Day is the one day 
upon which every devout Catholic makes a point of 
having a bath — if at no other period of the year — and 
this may possibly have something to do with it. If itf| 
were of Mexico that I was writing instead of Salvador, ^' 
I should say that this circumstance might possibly : 
have everything to do with it. 

Department of CusoatlIn. 

Cities. — Cojutepeque, Suchitoto (2). 

Towns. — San Pedro Perulapd-n, Tenancingo, San 
Rafael, and Guyabal (4). 

At one time this Department was the largest, or one 
of the largest, in Salvador ; but successive rearrange- 
ments of the area of the Department for political 
purposes have robbed it of much of its original 
territory. It was established as a separate entity in 
May, 1855, before which it was made up of a great | 
deal of land which now belongs to Chalatenango. 
Again, in 1875 it was forced to contribute a portion of 
its diminished possessions in order to form the new 
Department of Cabanas. However, Cuscatlan did not 
part with either of its two pet volcanoes — Cojutepeque 
and Guazapa — nor was it ever asked to do so. 

Bordering this section are the Departments of 
Cabanas and Chalatenango on the north. Cabanas and 
San Vicente on the east, San Vicente and La Paz on 
the south, and San Salvador on the west. Most of its 



COJUTEPEQUE 279 

territory is richly productive, agriculture being carried 
on by practically tbe whole population in some form or 
pther, and fine crops of coffee, sugar, indigo, rice, 
tobacco, cereals, and such products as starch and 
cheese, come out of Cuscatlan, and find their diverse 
ways about the country. A great gathering is held 
jannually in the chief city, Cojutepeque, on St. John's 
[Day (7iot the Baptist), August 29, while the other 
city, Suchitoto, has its own particular gala-day on 
the Feast of the Conception, December 8, a good deal 
of friendly rivalry existing between the merchants and 
traders of each town. Buyers and manufacturers 
IjCome to these meetings from all over the Republic, and 
I very extensive are the transactions carried out in 
I cattle, cheese, indigo, native products, and many kinds 
of foreign merchandise. 

Cojutepeque, which is connected by road to Ilobasco 
and Sensuntepeque, is an extremely romantic-looking, 
and as picturesquely-situated, city, with a population 
of between 8,000 and 9,000 inhabitants. It lies upon 
the northern slope of the volcano of the same name, 
not very far from the summit. Although the situation 
is from a climatic point of view very agreeable, it 
somewhat interferes with the success of the water- 
supply to the town. The surrounding country is 
agricultural, and the markets bear sufficient testimony 
to the great variety and high-class character of the 
produce which is raised. Cigar-making is one of the 
most important trades carried on in the town, and the 
excellent quality and the delightful aroma of Cojute- 
peque cigars are known and appreciated all through 
Central America. One of the factories which I visited 
was managed and owned entirely by a lady and her 
family, all of good birth and sound education. Their 



280 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

factory was a model of cleanliness and orderliness, and 
many of tlie employes had been with the proprietors 
for a great number of years. 

An exceedingly comfortable and well-maintained 
hotel at Cojutepeqne is that known as La America, 
kept by Senor Diaz, and whereat the guests are made 
to feel completely " at home." Senor Diaz is one of 
the good old-fashioned " Boniface " type of landlord, 
for, in conjunction with his charming wife and 
daughter and his young son, Cayetano, he personally 
looks after each individual who patronizes his estab- 
lishment, consulting each taste and idiosyncrasy, and 
carefully pandering thereto. The rooms in the Hotel 
America are exceptionally large and airy, while all 
meals are served to the guests in a delightful open 
patio, completely surrounded by masses of tropical 
bloom — great clustering rose-bushes, clematis, and 
honeysuckle, towering palms and sweet - scented 
orange-blossom — a veritable fairyland of colour and 
perfume. 

The town is not only well built, but is conveniently 
arranged in spite of the decided irregularity of the 
streets, caused by the slope of the volcano upon which 
they are built. On three different occasions Cojute- 
peque has been made the Capital of the Republic, and 
upon one occasion — viz., November 6, 1857 — it was 
very seriously damaged by earthquake. The three 
active volcanoes of San Salvador, San Jacinto, and 
Cojutepeque, have all contributed in their time to 
alarming and damaging the city. The last-named 
volcano is 3,351 feet in height, and is located in 
latitude 13° 42' 22" N., and longitude 88° 56' 26" W. 

Lake Cojutepeque ranks second in importance as to 
size and scenic beauty to Lake Ilopango ; it lies north- 



GENERAL JUAN AMAYA 281 

east of the volcano of Santa Ana, and is of a roughly 
elliptical shape, about four miles long and three miles 
wide, the major axis having a direction abont north- 
east and south- west. This lake has no visible outlet, 
and its waters, although somewhat impregnated with 
salts, can be used for drinking without any danger. 
To every outward appearance the lake gives the im- 
pression that it had once been the crater of the 
attendant volcano, lying as it does upon its northern 
slope. This is more apparent from a distant view 
of the entire mass of the Santa Ana volcano, such 
as can be obtained from the summit of the neigh- 
bouring volcano, San Salvador. The present peak of 
Santa Ana from this position seems to have been built 
up from the rim of the ancient crater, which is now 
occupied by the lake. 

General Juan Amaya, Governor of the State of 
Cuscatlan, has worked very zealously, and with 
conspicuous success, to make it one of the most 
progressive of the various political Departments of 
the Republic. Under his direction, and with the 
active support of General Figueroa while President, 
new and handsome roadways have been made, pure 
water and free public baths have been introduced ; 
the whole Department now presents the appearance 
of being under a highly intelligent and enterprising 
Government. General Juan Amaya was elected last 
May (1911), under the authority of Article 68 of the 
Constitution, Third Designate to succeed to the 
Presidency in case of a vacancy occurring during 
the present term {see p. 38). 



282 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Department of CabaJTas. 

Cities. — Sensnntepeqne, Ilobasco (2). 

Towns. — Victoria, Dolores, San Isidro, Jutiapa, 
Tejiitepeque (5). 

This Department is principally of interest on ac- 
count of the gold (see Chapter on Mining) which has 
been found, as well as the prosperous industry in 
indigo which is carried on there. It is bounded on 
the north and north-east by the Republic of Honduras, 
on the east by the Department of San Miguel, on the 
south by the Departments of San Vicente and Cus- 
catlan, and on the west by the last named only. The 
greater portion of the territory consists of mountains, 
which take the form of lofty ranges and chains, giving 
a wild and picturesque character to the country, and 
in parts even a somewhat forlorn appearance. Par- 
ticularly desolate are the eastern and northern parts 
of the Department, which, however, can boast in other 
directions of many beautiful and fertile valleys, which 
produce in abundance such crops as indigo, rice, corn, 
and several other kinds of grain. In regard to manu- 
factures, there are earthenware, lime, cheese, and other 
factories, as well as one or two distilleries. A very 
active commerce is carried on ; and here, as elsewhere 
in the Republic, the greatest day out of the twelve 
months is the one kept for the annual Fair, whereat 
one meets a veritable " gathering of the clans," the 
number of Indians who attend, for instance, lending 
great interest to the meeting. The rendezvous is at 
Sensimtepeque, and the date selected is the day 
devoted to Santa Barbara — namely, December 4. 
The Saint, as may be remembered, was a Christian 
Martyr of the third century, and the patron of artillery. 



SENSUNTEPEQUE 283 

She was beheaded by her father, who is said to have 
been struck dead by lightning immediately after the 
act, which was but poetic justice. Why the mis- 
fortunes of this young lady, however, should particu- 
larly appeal to the good people of Sensuntepeque I 
could not find out. But she always has been and 
remains their patron Saint. 

Sensuntepeque is joined up with Cojutepeque by 
a well-constructed cart-road, which likewise serves 
Ilobasco. Another equally good road runs from 
Sensuntepeque to Apastepeque, in the Department 
of San Vicente ; and these thoroughfares are kept in 
a good state of maintenance, especially in preparation 
for the heavy rainy season, when otherwise they would 
become impassable, and internal communication would 
be practically at a standstill. 

The city of Sensuntepeque is situated, as are so 
many other Salvadorean towns, on a mountain slope, 
in this case the location being on the southern de- 
clivity of the mountain Pelon, and at an elevation 
of some 2,310 feet above the level of the sea. It 
is located about fifty-seven miles distant north-east 
from the Capital. A decidedly picturesque little place 
it is, but one which contains, all the same, over 
10,000 inhabitants, the majority of whom are con- 
cerned in the cultivation or treatment of indigo. The 
city has many handsome edifices — such, for instance, as 
the fine Town Hall, several Government school build- 
ings, a prison (which is a model institution of its kind), 
and several handsome churches. Additionally there 
are a very attractive parque, beautifully laid out with 
plants and green grass-plots ; a capital public bathing- 
place ; and a number of attractive private residences, 
solidly built, and faced with either stucco or tiles. 



284 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Very few foreigners seem to find their way to this 
place, which is to be regretted ; for not alone would 
they be made to feel verj^ welcome, the people being 
particularly friendly and hospitably inclined, but the 
climate has a most exhilarating effect, and for the 
greater portion of the year it is nothing less than 
delightful. Very little poverty seems to exist here, 
and, from what I heard and saw, it seems that prac- 
tically every member of a family in Sensuntepeque is 
employed regularly and remuneratively in some kind 
of manner. 

Department of San Vicente. 

It would be no exaggeration to describe this Depart- 
ment as scenically the most beautiful in the Republic 
of Salvador. It affords almost every style of scenery 
— high mountains, towering volcanoes, delightful 
valleys, and a perfectly astounding collection of hot 
springs, or infiernillos. The Department is bounded 
on the north by the Department of Cabanas, on the 
east by the Departments of San Miguel and Usulutdn, 
on the south by the Pacific Ocean, and on the west by 
the Departments of La Paz and CuscatMn. One of 
the highest mountains — needless to say it is a volcano 
— is situated here, and bears the name of the Saint 
who founded the Society of the Lazarists and the 
Sisterhood of Charity. This most imposing mountain 
has a double cone, which towers very gracefully above 
the numerous attendant hills. It was last known to 
erupt in 1643, but it looks capable of a repetition of 
the performance in all its grandeur at any time. In 
height it stands 7,131 feet, and its approximate posi- 
tion is given at 13° 35' 24" N. latitude, and 88° 50' 31" 
W. longitude. 




i 






Public Park at Cojutepeque, Department of Cuscatlan. 




Barracks at Cojutepeque, Department of Cuscatlan. 



SAN VICENTE 285 

I first caught a glimpse of the majestic mountain 
while staying at Cojutepeque, but it was then a long 
way distant. There are two other volcanoes, Chichon- 
tepec and Signiatepeque — the former the highest moun- 
tain in the Republic— but they are pronounced to 
be extinct. The summit of this monster is 8,661 feet 
above the level of the sea, and it is notable for the 
number of active geysers which exist on the northern 
slope, and which continually send out volumes of 
steam accompanied by terrifying but apparently harm- 
less terrestrial rumblings, which can be distinctly 
heard as far away as three or four miles. But the 
mountain is quite unoffending, I understand, the said 
geysers proving the safety-valves for its occasional 
internal disturbances. 

San Vicente was created a Department in 1836, and 
its territory embraces a portion of what formerly 
formed one of the "territorial divisions" of the 
country existing under Spanish rule, while the 
eastern portion was originally part of Cabanas. The 
amount of commerce which is carried on is consider- 
able, and during the past few years has made decided 
strides in actual volume. Besides supplying a large 
amount of agricultural produce, such as indigo, coffee, 
sugar, tobacco, timber, cereals, and aU kinds of fruits, 
there are several mamifactories which turn out silk 
shawls, shoes, hats, starch, salt, and cigars, as well as 
sundry distilleries. 

The annual Fair is held here on All Saints' Day— 
namely, November 1— and the city is then very gay 
from morning to night. Upon this occasion the trans- 
actions carried out between the permanent residents 
and the visitors rim into high figures, quantities of 
local produce and merchandise being bought and sold, 



286 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

the articles of trade consisting mainly of indigo, cheese, 
cattle, grain, and the retailing of certain foreign goods. 

The principal city, San Vicente, is a very picturesque 
and romantic-looking town, one of the oldest, if not 
quite the most ancient, in this part of the country, 
dating as a city as far back as 1658, while it was 
founded as a town in 1634. To-day, however, the 
streets have been straightened - out and well paved, 
while a number of very pleasant suburbs, each with 
its gardens and avenues of trees, lend additional 
attractiveness as one approaches the place from the 
main-road. There are a number of excellent buildings 
already erected, and several others of altogether im- 
posing dimensions and structural pretensions were 
going up when I visited the town. 

It has long been the desire of the Government to 
unite San Vicente with San Salvador by railroad, and 
the line would run via San Miguel, the second city in 
the Republic, and La Union, its finest seaport, thus 
securing also an all-rail route between Acajutla, the 
most important western port, and La Union, on the 
extreme east of the Gulf of Fonseca. The survey was 
made many years ago, and the line has been proved 
to be a practicable one, although the work would no 
doubt be heavy and costly, since much gTading, heavy 
protective masonry, and many bridges, would have 
to be undertaken. The distance would be about 
67'9 kilometres (42*2 miles) between San Salvador 
and San Vicente by this line of railway, and the 
cost of the line has been estimated at not less than 
$2,157,433 (say £431,486), or an average of $51,124 
(= £10,225) per mile. The maximum grade in this loca- 
tion would be 2 '8 per cent., and the sharpest curves 
41 degrees (radius 410'3 feet or 125' 1 millimetres). 



CHAPTER XXI 

Department of La Libertad— Physical characteristics— Balsam Coast- 
Santa Tecla— Department of Sonsonate— Life and hotels— Depart- 
ment of Ahuachapan— City of Ahuachapan— Public buildings and 
. baths— Projected railway extension— Department of Santa Ana- 
Chief city — Generally prosperous conditions. 

Department of La Libertad. 

Cities. — Santa Tecla, Opico (2). 

Tow7is. — ^La Libertad, Teotepeque, Quezaltepeque (3). 

This Department, ranks second in importance to San 
Salvador, althongli its population is less than that of 
either the Departments, of Santa Ana, of Cuscatlan, 
or of San Miguel. It is joined by excellently-made 
cart-roads to both the Capital and to San Vicente. As 
far back as 1896, Mr. J. Imbrie Miller, an American 
engineer, formerly a member of the Intercontinental 
Railway Commission, was engaged in surveying a light 
line of railway from La Libertad to Santa Tecla. Some 
years later another American, Lieutenant Kennon, 
proceeded there to take observations for connecting 
the triangulation with the astronomical monument 
established there by the United States Hydrographic 

Office. 

The boundaries of this Department are as follows : 
On the north, the Department of Chalatenango ; on 
the east, San Salvador and La Paz ; on the south, the 
Pacific Ocean; on the west, the Departments of 

287 



288 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Sonsonate and Santa Ana. The physical features of 
this part of the Republic are remarkable. The central 
portion of the Department is very monntainons, being 
crossed from east to west by the coastal range of 
mountains and the system of the volcano of Quezalte- 
peque. The surface of the ground is considerably 
broken up by a great number of well-defined spurs, 
which extend from the mountain range to the very 
borders of the ocean itself. To the west of the 
volcano is situated an immense basin known as 
Sapotitau. The northern portion is traversed by lofty 
ridges between which are foimd a number of beauti- 
fully fertile plains. 

Fortunately for the good people of La Libertad, the 
giant volcano Quezaltepeque has long ceased to 
trouble them, and, indeed, it is said to be extinct ; it 
is, however, never safe to speak too confidently upon 
this matter, since Nature has a rude manner of dis- 
illusioning us at times. This particular volcano, it 
may be said, has been quiescent so long that for many 
years it has been regarded as quite harmless. It 
stands nearly 7,400 feet high above sea-level, the 
upper part forming a cone occupied by a crater which 
is between seven and eight miles in circumference, and 
1,100 feet deep ; at the bottom lies a small lake. 

It is in this Department that is located the famous 
Balsam Coast, and as I speak very fully elsewhere (see 
Chapter XVII.) of the valuable tree which grows there, 
with its usefulness to the country as a means of sub- 
stantial revenue, it is unnecessary to do more than 
mention that the valleys where the trees are found are 
extremely fertile ; and besides yielding the particular 
spice in question, they produce rich harvests of coffee, 
sugar, indigo, corn, rice, and timber. Here are to be 



SANTA TECLA 289 

found additionally several successful sugar refineries 
and distilleries, as well as some sawmills and many- 
prosperous coffee estates with tlieir rather antiquated 
machinery installations. In fact, the commerce of La 
Libertad is of prime importance, and is increasing in 
volume and value year by year. 

The capital of the Department is Santa Tecla (New 
San Salvador), a town which is most agreeably situated 
at the foot of the volcano of San Salvador, where it 
nestles snugly, absolutely indifferent to the violent 
reputation of its gigantic guardian. The height above 
sea-level of this charming little place is 2,643 feet, and 
it is only ten miles distant from the Capital City. It 
really owes its existence to the misfortunes which over- 
took the former some half a century ago, and to-day it 
is one of the most favourite places of residence in the 
Republic. Wide and handsome streets and many fine 
residences are the principal features of Santa Tecla, 
which likewise boasts of a large and well-laid-out 
parque, several handsome drives, and its own pleasant 
little suburbs. Notable among its buildings are the 
Hospital, the Town Hall, the Government Ofi&ces, the 
Hospicio Guirola, built at his own expense by the late 
Don Angel Guirola, one of Salvador's most esteemed 
and wealthiest citizens, and two fine churches. The 
population amounts to between 11,000 and 11,500, 
and easy connection is made with San Salvador by 
regular trains, which have now taken the place of 
an old horse -railroad. The street Lighting in the 
town of Santa Tecla is carried out by private enter- 
prise, and it is very well done. In the month of 
March, 1907, an agreement was entered into between 
the Government and La Compania de Alumbrado 
Electrico, of San Salvador, for the installation in the 

19 



^90 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

city of Nueva San Salvador for tlie street lighting by- 
thirty- seven arc lamps of 1,200 candle-power and 
ninety- three incandescent lamps of 16 candle-power. 
This agreement is for ten years, and so far it has 
afforded general satisfaction. 

The Department of Sonsonate. 

Cities. — Sonsonate, Izalco (2). 

Toivns. — Nahnizalco, El Progreso, Armenia (3). 

This Department gains importance from two circum- 
stances : Firstly, it contains the principal port of the 
Republic — -Acajntla — of which a full description will 
be found under Chapter XVI., " Ports and Harbours " ; 
and, secondly, because its main city, bearing the same 
name, has already attained great commercial signifi- 
cance, and is rapidly rivalling the Capital itself in the 
volume of its trade. The boundaries of the Depart- 
ment are as follows : On the north, by the Department 
of Santa Ana ; on the east, by La Libertad ; on the 
south, by the Pacific Ocean ; and on the west, by the 
Department of Ahuachapan. The northern portion of 
the ground surface is a mass of mountains, of many 
varied heights and shapes ; on the coast, however, it is 
very level for a certain distance, from which point it 
rises gradually in a series of gentle slopes and rolling 
hills, until these lose themselves in the spurs of the 
surrounding mountain ranges. It is a truly enchanting 
country, as fair and as fertile as the eye could wish to 
dwell upon ; and away from the seacoast, where 
it is marshy and damp, the climate is found to be 
delightful for the greater part of the year. 

Here also some stretches of the famous Balsam 
Coast are to be met with, the trees being more numer- 



SONSONATE 291 

ous and even higher, than those in the La Libertad 
Department. 

Acajutla must always serve to bring prosperity to 
Sonsonate, which, as a department, was created in 1855. 
Its principal agricultural productions comprise coffee, 
cocoanuts, sugar, cacao, balsam, tobacco, cereals of 
almost all kinds, fruits of endless variety, and an 
immense number of different cabinet woods and fibres. 
There are a considerable number of factories erected 
in this same Department, employing many hundreds 
of hands, and turning out refined sugar, cigars, cotton, 
cloth, pottery, mats, baskets, distilled liqueurs, and 
salt. The principal city, Sonsonate, is situated some 
fifty miles from San Salvador, and stands picturesquely 
upon the banks of the River Sensunapan. Compara- 
tively speaking, this is but a small stream ; neverthe- 
less, from a scenic point of view, it is decidedly worthy 
of mention. It is crossed by a handsome bridge, and 
its banks are often used as a pleasant promenade and 
bathing-place by the inhabitants of this agreeable 
town. 

At Sonsonate, which, with Santa Ana, is one of the 
several towns in Salvador on the route of the itinerant 
theatrical companies, there is a small wooden-built 
room, which forms part of the Hotel Blanco y Negro, 
kept by a very courteous and obliging Spaniard, one 
Seiior Arturo de Soto, who, with the profits derived 
from the cantina adjoining, finds in this imdertaking 
the investment of his capital to be fairly profitable. 
The stage of the unambitious little playhouse is exactly 
18 feet wide by 9 feet deep, so that the precise limit 
of the mounting of dramatic representations presented 
thereon may be fairly accurately gauged. 

The climate of Sonsonate is decidedly warm for the 



292 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

greater part of tlie year, and not at all unpleasant in 
the dry season, except for the fearful wind-storms to 
which it is at times subjected. Upon these occasions 
the whole town is temporarily hidden in clouds of 
gritty dust, which, moreover, penetrate every crack 
and crevice of the tightly-closed house shutters, cover 
the merchants' goods exposed for sale in the shops 
with a thick layer of dirt, and render life generally, 
for the time being, something of a burden. So strong 
is the wind that it whirls around in a sort of wild 
maelstrom every stray piece of paper, stick, or any 
loose rubbish which it can gather, and then deposits 
them impartially in the patios and upon the roofs of 
the houses, at the same time making complete havoc 
of gardens and parks. 

The market at Sonsonate, an important weekly 
function, is held on Sundays. The building, com- 
pletely roofed over, as are all similar constructions in 
Latin- America, is crowded to excess with sellers, the 
nmnber of buyers, however, being considerably fewer. 
Every kind of article is exposed for sale, from stuffed 
and roasted monkeys to the cheapest kind of Man- 
chester cotton goods and cheaper German imitations. 
The stalls are separated into sections, and practically 
all of them are presided over by women. It cannot 
be said that the majority of the edibles look very 
tempting from a European point of view, being for 
the most part covered with grease or floating in a thick 
and sticky compound of fat of a bilious-yellow colour. 
To the local taste these articles of diet no doubt 
appeal strongly, since a brisk trade is carried on in 
them. Cheap and tawdry fancy goods, highly-coloured 
and cheaply-framed rehgious pictures, toys, flimsy 
dress material, tinselly embroideries, parrots, pencils, 



SONSONATE 293 

pastry, and other curiously diverse articles, are to be 
found displayed in immediate proximity to dried fish 
— emitting a powerful and pungent odour — live 
iguanas (a large species of edible lizard), squawking 
fowls, and repulsive-looking chunks of bleeding, 
freshly-killed beef. Altogether an active, if not 
exactly an attractive, market-place, and one which 
offers a continually shifting scene of life and colour, 
enduring from sunrise to sunset. 

In regard to hotel accommodation, Sonsonate is 
decidedly better off than many towns outside the 
Capital. There are at least three houses from among 
which the traveller may make his choice. 

The Grand Hotel is situated immediately facing the 
railway-station, and, although far from attractive ex- 
ternally, it is quite comfortable and clean within. 
The rooms, if small, are fairly well-furnished ; the 
dining-room is kept scrupulously clean, and the 
domestic service generally is prompt and willing. 
The baths which are found here are not at all bad, 
and are likewise kept very clean. A good business is 
carried on, apparently, by the proprietors, Messrs. 
Brando y Emeldi, since every train on the Salvador 
Railway stops at Sonsonate, whether proceeding north 
or south, or, more strictly speaking, east or west. 
Before its journey from the port of Acajutla to the 
capital of San Salvador, the train remains for one 
hour, and the down- train remains for two hours. 
Inasmuch as the hotel maintains quite a respectable 
cellar, and there is plenty of time for the passengers 
to test its contents, the proprietors find this part of the 
hotel business a remarkably profitable one. 

The hotel in this town of second importance is 
El Blanco y Negro (Black and White). The situation 



294 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

is decidedly preferable to that of the Grand, being in 
a side but wide street, out of bearing range of the 
inevitable noise proceeding at the railway-station, but 
in other respects it is less attractive to the many. 

Department of Ahuachapan. 

. Cities. — Ahuachapan, Atiquizaya (2). 

Being the immediate neighbour of the sister Republic 
of Guatemala, this Department was once destined to 
become the route for the railway which was to — and 
may yet — connect up the two States by an iron link. 
It is bounded on the north and the west by this 
Republic, and on the east by the Departments of 
Sonsonate and Santa Ana. Very rugged and very wild 
is the northern part of the country, but there are 
several level plains north of the coastal range of 
mountains which crosses the country from east to 
west. Here are also several active volcanoes ; the 
number of hot springs and sulphur baths should one 
day draw considerable visitors, more especially since 
the waters, medicinally speaking, are said to rank 
among the most wonderfully curative in the world. 
If these springs and baths were located anywhere but 
in little-known Salvador, they would probably be 
thronged with patients from all over the globe, 
seeking their beneficent and speedy aid against the 
ravages of blood complaints, rheumatism, and skin 
diseases. 

As a Department, Ahuachapdn was " created " in 
1869, having formerly been considered as parts of the 
Departments of Santa Ana and Sonsonate. It pos- 
sesses the unmatched Valley of Chalchuapa, which for 
extreme fertility and magnificent climate wiU compare 




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AHUACHAPAN 295 

with, any similar country in Latin-America. Agricul- 
ture in all of its different aspects is carried on, and 
prosperity uninterrupted dwells in this small earthly 
paradise. Coffee, sugar, tobacco, cotton, cereals, fine 
fruits and vegetables, grow here practically without 
any attention ; while an active commerce is carried on, 
through the port of Acajutla, with other ports of the 
Republic, to which it sends large consignments of 
cereals and sugar. It likewise imports woollen goods 
and mercury from Guatemala, and cattle and mules 
from Honduras. Altogether, a thriving trade and a 
valuable natural production are carried on during all 
the year in this prosperous Department. 

Ahuachapan Town has always possessed, and must 
always retain, some value as a commercial centre, 
since it is the starting-place for the export of coffee to 
the coast, the route having formerly been over very 
precipitous and wretched trails, which, however, have 
latterly been much improved. One of the fords over 
the Rio Paz, known as Los Organos, on the trail from 
the aldea of Cofradias, in Guatemala, leads by a 
very beautiful route to the town of Ahuachapdn. It 
has a population of between 11,000 and 12,000 in- 
habitants, the Department which bears the same name 
having a complement of some 37,000 people. There 
is a good cart-road leading to Sonsonate via Otaco 
and Apaneca, which are two mountain towns. 

Being situated at an agreeable altitude above sea- 
level — 2,620 feet, which is some 500 feet higher than 
Santa Ana— the town is more open to the winds, so 
that the air is generally fresh and cool, especially at 
nights. Ahuachapan overlooks the valleys of the 
Rivers Paz and Chalchuapa, while beyond them are 
seen the many peaks of the Guatemalian mountains, 



296 SALVADOR OF THE T^VENTIETH CENTURY 

as well as tlie outstanding volcano of San Salvador. 
There are but few foreigners in this town, but the 
courtesy and friendliness of the people render a stay- 
there more than usually pleasant. The people as a 
whole seemed to me to be very well-to-do, and 
evidences of refinement and solid comfort were to be 
met with upon all sides. This prosperity emanated, 
I was informed, from the many rich and productive 
jincas in the neighbourhood, which are engaged in 
growing coffee. The majority of these fincas seem to 
belong to quite small and humble proprietors. I was 
also impressed with the absence of the usual number 
of estancos, or public drinking shops, of which I 
counted scarcely more than six in the whole town. 

There is a good social club here, which is " teetotal," 
and there are the usual number of churches, one of 
them being an extremely handsome edifice. The 
Government buildings and the residence of the 
Governor are sufficiently imposing ; the streets are 
both well paved and well drained. The majority of 
the houses are built of adobe, but some are of brick, 
and one or two are of stone, or at least they are stone- 
faced. Most of the better-class residences, however, 
are stuccoed with either brown, white, or coloured 
plaster on the side which faces the street. There 
seemed to be an abundant supply of good water 
available, free baths being provided and also appar- 
ently well patronized. I had noticed the same thing 
in Cojutepeque and other Salvadorean towns, proving 
that the inhabitants pay strict regard to cleanli- 
ness. The Ahuachap^n public baths have a continuous 
supply of warm water, which is received from the 
neighbouring hot springs. 

An efficient police force keeps the town in perfect 



SANTA ANA 297 

order ; but there are still lacking a good hotel, a livery 
stable, and a theatre. The latter is not essential, but 
it is a luxury which is usuaUy found in Central and 
South American towns which cannot even boast of a 
single drainpipe. The same thing was noticeable in 
Johannesburg, South Africa, some twenty years after 
the town had the electric light and the telephone. The 
town of Ahuachapdn is a quiet, sleepy, and eminently 
peaceful place of residence, where one might dream 
away one's Hfe contentedly enough if one were pre- 
pared to do without driving, without amusements, 
and without either dentists, doctors, or daily papers. 

There was once some talk of bringing the railway 
line through Ahuachapdn from Montufar (Guatemala) 
to Sonsonate ; but the construction, although perfectly 
practicable, would be so heavy and so costly that I 
am doubtful whether the peaceful solitude of this 
district— for some time at least— will be broken by 
the shrill scream of the locomotive whistle. 

Department of Santa Ana. 

Cities.— Santa Ana, Chalchuapa, Metapan (3). 

ToM/m.— Texistepeque, Coatepeque (2). 

The boundaries of this Department bring it into 
immediate contact with Honduras and Guatemala on 
the north, while on the east are the Departments of 
La Libertad and Chalatenango. Sonsonate is on the 
south, and Guatemala and the Department of Ahua- 
chapdn are on the west. 

Two extensive ranges of mountains cover this terri- 
tory, one on the north, and the other from east to 
west, two imposing moimtains, Santa Ana and Mala 
Cara, both of which are active, rearing their shapely 



298 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

heads in this Department. In addition there are 
three extinct volcanoes — Masatepeque, San Diego, and 
La Isla. Where there are no mountains, magnificent 
valleys — fertile from end to end — stretch away for 
many leagues, watered by two rivers, one of which is 
the Malino, and the other the Lempa, which latter, 
with its many afHuents, curves through this favoured 
country. As a Department, Santa Ana came into 
existence in February, 1855, having previously formed 
first a part of the ancient province of Sonsonate, and 
after that comprising the two districts of Ahuachapan 
and Atiquizaya. 

The chief city, which bears the same name, is the 
largest — outside San Salvador — in the Republic, and, 
indeed, is ranked as one of the most important in 
Central America. The location is a pleasant one, 
being on the west side of the valley of the Malino. 
The elevation is about 2,100 feet above sea-level, and 
softly undulating green hills almost entirely surround 
it. The city is well laid out and solidly built, with 
many notable structures, while the streets are lighted 
by electricity and are well paved. Owing, however, 
to the steepness of some of the thoroughfares, this 
city being also constructed upon the sloping side of 
the valley, torrents of water come tumbling down in 
rainy weather, converting the crossings for the time 
being into miniature cataracts. On the other hand, 
the natural drainage is excellent, and as a conse- 
quence Santa Ana ranks as one of the cleanest and 
most healthful towns in the country. This is all the 
more notable because the Municipality at the time 
that I visited the place had not completed the drainage 
system, which I understood was then about to be 
introduced, while the public water-supply was not yet 



SANTA ANA 299 

perfect. I noticed several public batliing-places which 
were completely open to the air ; these were not, how- 
ever, provided with hot water. 

The number of prosperous-looking business houses 
and handsome private residences in Santa Ana at once 
arrest the attention of a visitor, as does the general 
air of prosperity which reigns throughout the place. 
The commercial and financial houses do about as 
much business in this town in a day as they carry 
through in all the other parts of the Republic— the 
capital excepted— in a week. The market-house, a 
building of considerable magnitude, is usually very 
well attended, and ahnost any kind of fruit and vege- 
table can be purchased there. 

Santa Ana contains, perhaps, a greater proportion of 
resident foreigners than any other town or city in 
Salvador. It is partly due to this that so much com- 
merce is carried on. The town is but fifty miles 
distant from the Capital, and it is easily reached by 
the Salvador Railway, which naturaUy carries con- 
siderable traffic both to and from the town. From Santa 
Ana there is a first-rate cart-road conducting north to 
Metapan, and another leading south to Sonsonate and 
to the port of Acajutla. 

The temperature, as a rule, in this city renders lite 
very pleasant. During the rainy months of August, 
September, and October it varies between 67° and 
69° F., the maximum being between 72° and 78° F. 



CHAPTER XXII 

Depaartment of La Paz — Characteristics — Zacatecoluca — Population — 
Former proportions — Districts — Towns — Principal estates — Santiago 
Nonualco — San Juan Nonualco — Climate — Water-supply — Santa 
Maria Astuma — Mercedes la Ceiba — San Pedro Mazahuat — Some 
minor estates — Small property holdings. 

Department of La Paz. 

City. — Zacatecoluca. 

Towns. — Santiago Nonualco, San Pedro Mazahuat, 
San Pedro Nonualco, Olocuilta (4). 

The Department of La Paz belongs to the group of 
central and coast (or maritime) Departments. It has 
a decidedly quadrangular form, and is bounded on 
the east by the Department of San Vicente ; on the 
north by the same with that of Cuscatlan and of San 
Salvador ; on the west by the Department of San 
Salvador and by that of La Libertad ; and on the 
south by the Pacific. 

It lies between the parallels 13° 40" and 13° 18" 
N. latitude, and between the meridians 91° 4" and 
91° 31" W. longitude, relatively to the meridian 
of Paris. The most northerly point is a smaU 
peninsula of the Lake of Ilopango, on the coast 
of the Tepezontes, and the most southerly is on the 
Pacific coast, at the watering-place called Los Blancos 
y los Negros. The most easterly point is at the 
River of San Jer6nimo, to the north of the highroad 

300 



LA PAZ 301 

whicli runs from Zacatecoluca to Usulutan, and the 
most westerly is at the mouth of the River Lindero. 
The area of this Department is 2,354 square kilo- 
metres, or, say, about yf^ of the area of Salvador. 

The surface is fairly level towards the coast, and 
hilly towards the interior, but it is always accessible 
for transit. The low-lying land is found to be excel- 
lent for the cultivation of the sugar-cane, tobacco, 
cotton, indigo, and forage ; while the high land is 
eminently suited for the cultivation of coffee, wheat, 
rice, etc. The forests of the Department enjoy a high 
reputation for the excellence of the timber which they 
produce. 

The population of the Department of La Paz has 
increased with astonishing rapidity. In 1858 it 
possessed scarcely 24,000 inhabitants, while to-day 
it is almost three times as large, which is equal to 
an increase of 3 per cent, annually. The density of 
the population is thirty-one inhabitants per square 
kilometre, and the number of individuals of native 
race is nearly equal to that of the Spanish-speaking 
inhabitants. 

Previous to the Independence, the greater part of 
the present Department of La Paz belonged to the 
Department of San Vicente. Towards 1835 the 
Governor of this State ceded the district of Zacate- 
coluca to the Central Government, so that it might 
form part of the special territory of that authority, a 
cession which not unnaturally displeased the inhabi- 
tants of the district. On the disunion, the Federation 
was established, and joined-up with that of Olocuilta 
the new Department of La Paz. In the year 1843, in 
direct consequence of the revolt of the Indians of 
Santiago Nonualco, and under pretext of a defect in 



302 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

the government, tlie new Department was suppressed 
and reincorporated in tliat of San Vicente. In 1845 
it again separated ; but in the following year, 1846, 
it was joined once more to that of San Vicente, 
remaining thus until, by the Legislative Decree of 
February 21, 1852, it was definitely separated. 

At present the Department of La Paz is divided 
into three districts, which comprehend one city, four 
large towns, and about fifteen smaller ones, as shown 
by the following table : 

District of Zacatecoluca : Santiago Nonualco, San Pedro Nonualco, 
San Juan Nonualco, Santa Maria Ostuma, San Eafael, La Ceiba, 
Jerusalen. 

District of San Pedro Mazahuat : San Pedro Mazahuat, El Rosario, 
San Miguel Tepezontes, San Juan Tepezontes, Paraiso de Osorio, San 
Emigdio. 

District of Olocuilta : Talpa, Cuyultitan, San Luis, Tapalhuaca, San 
Francisco Chinameca. 

In the lowlands or near the coast there are a number 
of old estates of unquestionable merit, and which in 
former times were famous for the indigo which they 
produced. To-day the principal agricultural industry 
of Zacatecoluca is coffee-growing, and the inhabitants 
possess upon the Volcan some magnificent plantations, 
the principal being the following, with the number of 
hundredweights of produce that they yield annually : 

Those of Senor J. Rengifo Nunez, 3,500 cwts. ; SefLor Jose Molina, 
2,000; Senora Dona Amalia Molina, 2,000; Senora Doiaa Teresa 0. de 
Alfaro, 1,000; Dr. Don Fernando Gomez, 1,500 ; Don Mariano A. Molina, 
1,000; Don Fernando Gomez, 1,500; Dr. Pena Fernandez, 1,500; Don 
Pedro Rodriguez, 800 ; Dona Josefa Buiza, 800 ; Don Atanasio Pineda, 
500 ; the Sehorita Dolores Rodriguez, 500 ; Dona Teresa de Rodriguez, 
500; Don Atanasio Pineda, 500; Don Atanasio Pineda (h), 500; the 
Lopez family, 500 ; Dr. Don Pio Romero Bosque, 500 ; Dona Josefa 
Molina, 600 ; Dona Mercedes Rubio, 400 ; Don Francisco Orantes, 300 ; 
Don Lisandro Torres, 300 ; the issue of Don Samuel Jimenez, 300 ; Dona 
Mercedes Rodriguez, 300; Don Octavio Miranda, 200; Don Catarino 
Ortiz, 200 ; Dona Elodia Jandres, 200 ; Don Justo Quintanilla, 200 ; 
General Don Jose Maria Estupinian, 300. 



LA PAZ 303 

The town of Santiago Nonualco, which has the title 
f "Villa," a name usually given to a large and im- 
lortant town, is also an ancient one. It is situated 
n high land, on the brow of a hill, 10 kilometres to 
lie west of Zacatecoluca — the said highland measuring 
pom north to south some 36 kilometres, and from 
i|ast to west about 7. It is situated on a large tract 
j»f level ground, upon which, towards the north, are 
|wo hills — La Chorrera and El Tacuazin ; in the 
j'ormer is situated the cave in which the celebrated 
'.'ndian, Aquino, took refuge. 

Numbers of excellent stock and grain farms exist 

ipere, upon which are cultivated large quantities of 

pereals, and which formerly produced a remarkable 

:][uantity of very good indigo. Such are El Pedregal, 

La Vanderia, Tegtiistocoyo, Novillos, Ojo, Troncones, 

|and Santa Teresa. A very ancient town also is San 

|Juan Nonualco, situated to the west, 4 kilometres 

■from Zacatecoluca, and about 100 metres above the 

level of the sea. The highroad leading from Zacate- 

jcoluca to the Capital of the Republic passes by here, 

land at San Juan it throws off a branch which runs 

! directly to the port of La Libertad. 

Among its best-known coffee plantations are — Las 

•Nubes, San Pedro, El Consuelo, and Las Granadillas. 

. There is also carried on a great deal of timber-felling, 

land there are some sawmills erected among the hills 

[of Pilon and Caballito. In this district there are no 

natural springs of water, which element has been 

supplied by sinking wells near the pool of La 

Laguneta, formed at the time of the rains. 

San Rafael is a town which was founded in the year 
1882 on lands which were the property of the Obra- 
juelos, the portion belonging to the town being 



304 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

marked off by boundaries and landmarks. The only 
bill worthy of mention in the district of San Rafael 
is that of the Carao. 

The little town of San Pedro Nonualco is situated 
in the hollow of a hill and upon the slopes of a smaU 
volcano, 20 kilometres to the north of Zacatecoluca. 
It enjoys a mild and salubrious climate, especially in 
the dry season ; whilst during the rainy season there 
is sufficient humidity for agricultural purposes. The 
principal sources are — El Pringadero, El Pataiste, 
El Hiscanal, El Chinte, La Gotera (which last is that 
from which is drawn the water used by the town), La 
Montanita, Los Naranjos, and a number of other small 
streams which supply the country with an abundance 
of water. 

Santa Maria Ostuma is a town situated on the slope 
of a hiH which springs from the loins of the volcano 
of San Vicente on the north-west, and is 24 kilo- 
metres from Zacatecoluca. Its situation is very 
picturesque, the town being surrounded by beautiful 
perspectives, while its climate is fresh and healthy. It 
is divided into four districts — Delicias, Candelaria, 
Mercedes and Calvario. The principal annual festival 
is that of the patron saint, on February 2, the day of 
the Presentation, or Candlemas. The place has to-day 
about 3,400 inhabitants, and its prominent source of 
revenue is derived from agriculture, principally coffee 
and the pineapple, the pineapples produced in Ostuma 
being considered the best in the Republic. These are 
of the most choice types — the Castilian, water and 
sugar pineapples. 

The town, or rather village, of Mercedes La Ceiba is 
bounded on the west by that of Jerusal^n, the middle 
coiirse of the River Chilate, and on the remaining 



LA PAZ 305 

sides by the district of Santa Maria Ostuma. It has 
not more than 650 inhabitants. 

Jerusalen is another small place of recent founda- 
tion, situated about 25 kilometres from the chief 
town. Its lands are fertile, and largely intersected by 
streams of some importance. San Pedro Mazahuat is 
one of the large towns of the Department, and is the 
capital of the district. In the course of a few years it 
has attained a state of progress quite remarkable, due 
alike to the industrious character of its inhabitants and 
the fertility of its lands. It is situated upon rather 
broken ground, having on the east the River Tilapa, 
on the west the Sepaquiapa, and on the south the 
Jiboa, all of which contribute an abundant supply of 
fish. There are also several springs of fresh water, 
such as Apacinto, La Pina, and Amatitan. Two kilo- 
metres to the north of the town is the spring of Plata, 
where a dam has been constructed and whence water 
is conveyed to the town. 

There are several notable estates, such as those of 
San Antonio, El Pimental, San Jose and Mira-Flores, 
upon which are cultivated various cereals, and a serious 
attempt at cattle-breeding is carried on. This last- 
named estate, which was widely known under the 
name of Rancho de Teja, was formerly, with that of 
Chanrayo, one of the most flourishing, and engaged 
largely in the cultivation of indigo. It is the place 
which was at one time known as Hacienda Nueva (the 
New Estate), and for the last fifty years it has been in 
the possession of the family of Aycinena, of Guatemala, 
as is also that of San Jos^cito. The lands of both 
these properties have to-day been converted into a 
number of small plantations. 

20 



CHAPTER XXm 

Department of San Miguel — Portless coast — Indigo plantations — City of 
San Miguel — Cathedral — Water-supply — Archaeological interests — 
Projected railway connections. Department of Morazan — City of 
Gotera — Mountains and fertile plains — Agricultural produce. Depart- 
ment of Usulutan — Physical characteristics — Volcanic curiosities — 
Surrounding villages — Populations — El Triimfo — Santiago de Maria. 
Department of La Union — Boundaries — Scenery — Guascoran River 
— Industries — Commerce. 



Department of San Miguel. 

Cities. — San Miguel and Chinameca (2). 

Towns. — Uluazapa, Moncagua, Ctiapeltiqiie, Cac- 
aguatique, Sesori (5). 

One of the most diversified of tlie Departments of 
tlie Republic is San Miguel, since it offers almost every 
kind of scenery to be found in Central America : wild 
and rugged coastline, steep and craggy mountains, 
beautiful verdant valleys and at least one active 
volcano — active, that is to say, in emitting much 
smoke and more noise, but otherwise, for the time 
being, unobjectionable. The Department is bounded 
on the north by the Republic of Honduras and the 
Department of Morazdn, on the east by the latter and 
the Department of La Uni6n, on the south by the 
Pacific Ocean, and on the west by the Departments of 
Usulutdn and Cabanas. 

There is no port in this section of the Republic, and 
the whole coastline is considered dangerous, and cer- 

306 




The "stately" offices of His Britannic Majesty's Vice-Consui. at 
La Union, one of the principal ports in Salvador. 




Barracks at Santa Tecla (New San Sal\ ahor) 



I 



SAN MIGUEL 307 

tainly looks inhospitable, being formed of nmnerous 
spurs running down into the sea from the mountains 
which guard it for practically all of its length. There 
are two volcanoes located here, one of which, China - 
meca, is, and for years past has been, quiescent ; the 
other is the ever-grumbling San Miguel. 

In the peaceful valleys below are grown indigo, 
coffee, and sugar ; timber is cut for building purposes ; 
grains and any amount of fruits and vegetables are 
cultivated. There are likewise several important 
manufactures, such as saddlery and harness, boots and 
shoes, articles of tortoiseshells, pickles, lime-juice, 
cheese, and rum. The annual fair is held on 
November 21, in the city of San Miguel, and on this 
occasion the amount of business transacted runs into 
many thousands of dollars. The visitors include those 
from some of the neighbouring Republics, besides the 
people from all parts of Salvador. 

An old and a remarkably interesting city is that of 
San Miguel, which was founded in 1530. Perhaps its 
early days were more prosperous than those which are 
at present enjoyed ; for history shows that here, in 
times long passed away, great trade and industry 
were caried on, and much activity of commercial life 
prevailed. To-day a kind of peaceful stagnation 
would appear to reign for the greater part of the year, 
but still the people seem to be quite contented and 
fairly well-to-do. 

The great wealth of the place formerly reposed in 
the indigo trade which was carried on, and which the 
invention of aniline dyes greatly helped to kill. One 
can easily trace where and how the superabundant 
wealth of the community was spent. It is to be seen 
in the magnificently wide thoroughfares, the well- 



308 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

paved streets, and the many yet handsome plazas and 
public buildings. It is possible still to pause and 
admire the proportions and the decorations of the 
Municipal Palace, of the Court House, the Hospital 
and the Market ; while many are the imposing churches 
to be seen, those of San Francisco, Calvario and Santo 
Domingo among them. 

For some years a massive brick-built Cathedral has 
been in course of erection ; but it is still incomplete. 
The water-supply, which is abundant, is taken from 
the San Miguel River. I have been told that this 
water was not safe to drink ; but I venture to assert 
that the statement is incorrect, provided the liquid be 
taken from that portion of the river which is not 
immediately adjoining the town and certain residences. 

That the town otherwise is up-to-date may be gauged 
from the fact that it possesses both an ice-plant and an 
electric light installation. I am afraid, however, that 
neither are particularly well patronized by the 
majority of the people, who are very simple and un- 
pretentious in their method of living, as in their dress. 

Around the city of San Miguel are located well- 
maintained fincas, nearly all of which belong to native 
proprietors. Indigo and cacao are the most common 
products raised, and both thrive here amazingly well. 

Antiquaries and archasologists will find an extremely 
interesting field for their investigations around San 
Miguel, where exist numerous remains of a primitive 
and an industrious people. Already many examples of 
their domestic utensils have been found and methods 
of living have been traced ; and at a private house 
belonging to an enthusiastic but discriminating 
collector of such articles may be seen flint knives, 
grinding-mills of hard stone more durable even than 



SAN MIGUEL 309 

granite, and ollas of clay, presenting many interesting 
features of workmansliip, far superior, indeed, to any- 
tliing of tlie kind which, is met with to-day. It is 
supposed that the ancient city of Chaparrastique was 
located in this neighbourhood, not more than a mile or 
so from the present site of San Miguel. 

The city of San Miguel lies some three-quarters of 
a mile from the volcano and the river of the same 
name, the latter also being called sometimes the Rio 
Grande. It stands but some 360 feet above the level 
of the sea, and the climate is undoubtedly hot — 
sometimes unpleasantly so. San Miguel is about 107 
miles east of the Capital, and is approached by a 
good cart-road. It claims some 23,000 inhabitants, 
most of whom are engaged in agriculture of some kind, 
while they form an orderly community very little given 
to troubling the authorities, yet somewhat opposed to 
innovations or reforms of any kind. The native 
women of San Miguel are considered to be about the 
best-looking in the Republic. 

The Government have, as related elsewhere, long 
had the desire to unite San Miguel, which claims with 
Santa Ana to be the " second " most important city in 
the Republic (it certainly is justified from a population 
point of view) with La Union, its finest seaport, and to 
extend the line to the cities of San Vicente and San 
Salvador, thus securing an aH-rail route from Acajutla, 
the most important western port, to La Union in the 
extreme east, on the Gulf of Fonseca.* 

* These figures will, no doubt, be recognized by some of my more 
critical readers as a " repetition," having already been presented by me 
in previous chapters. But since I have, for the purpose of more ready 
reference, divided this volume into Departments, it has been deemed 
desirable to repeat the statistics of railway construction and road-building 
under each separate Department to which the figures boar any relation. — 
Author. 



SIO SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

It was sufficiently proved by Mr. Charles T. Spencer 
(now the Manager of the Salvador Railway Company) 
that such a line of railway was quite feasible from an 
engineering point of view, and that it could be con- 
structed at a reasonable outlay. The kilometric 
distance from San Miguel to San Vicente would be 
(main-line) 102-2 (=63-5 miles). 

Department of Morazan. 

City. — Gotera. 

Towns. — Sociedad, San^^Carlos, Jocoro, Osicala, El 
Rosario (5). 

This is one of the most recently created of the 
various Departments, having come into official exist- 
ence in 1875. Formerly much of its territory was 
comprised in San Miguel. Even its name has been 
altered, since until 1887 it was known as " Gotera," 
which is now the title of its one city. In this year 
the name was altered to Morazan by decree of Con- 
gress, in memory of the last President of the Central 
American Federation, and who lost his life in his 
well-meant but fruitless efforts to bring about its 
resuscitation. 

The Department is bounded on the north by the 
Republic of Honduras, on the east by the Department 
of La Uni6n, on the south by La Uni6n and San 
Miguel, and on the west by the latter also. Lofty 
mountains cover a great deal of the surface, more 
especially towards the north, the various chains cross- 
ing the Department from east to west. Towards the 
Honduranean border — that is to say, in the direction 
of the south — a number of fertile plains are to be met 
with, and these are mostly well watered by the Rivers 
Tocola and Rio Grande. All kinds of agricultural 



MORAZAN 311 

products are cultivated here, such as indigo, rice, 
coffee, sugar, corn, and a variety of fruits. It is also 
an industrial centre, there being established cordage, 
mat, hat, lime, and earthenware factories, the greater 
part of which, at least, seem to carry on a thriving 
trade. Labour is abundant, if not particularly well 
skilled ; and the greater portion of the inhabitants are 
industriously occupied all the year round in following 
either agriculture or some kind of manufacturing. 

Although a decidedly small place, containing some- 
thing less than 2,000 people, Gotera is picturesque, 
and as clean as it is romantic in appearance. It is 
connected by a good cart-road with the city of San 
Miguel. There is likewise a volcano of moderate 
proportions, raising its crest 3,089 feet in height, and 
being located 13° 42' 54" latitude, and 88° 0' 30" 
longitude. Its history is not especially remarkable. 

Department of La Uni6n. 

Cities. — La Union, San Alejo, Santa Rosa (3). 

It was to form this Department that San Miguel 
had once again to give up a goodly portion of its 
original territory. It is now one of the most im- 
portant of the Eepublic's various political Divisions, 
by reason of containing the port of La Uni6n, of 
which I give a fuller description elsewhere under the 
title of " Ports and Harbours " (see Chapter XIV.). 
Its boundaries are as follows : North, by the Republic 
of Honduras ; east, by that Republic also and the Bay 
of Fonseca ; south, by the Pacific Ocean ; and west, 
by the Departments of San Miguel and Morazan. A 
great diversity of scenery may be met with, the 
mountains alternating with valleys, volcanoes with 
large open plains, and the ocean lending a blue 



312 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

setting to tlie whole picture. For true tropical 
scenery the Bay of Fonseca would be hard to beat, 
and its most beautiful portion skirts the shore of this 
Department. Unfortunately, however, there is usually 
a great deal of unhealthy miasma arising from the low, 
marshy shore, and from the mouth of the Guascoran 
River to the Honduranean boundary the whole district 
may be said to be unhealthy. Here and again one 
comes across dry and rugged spots, but for the most 
part the country lies very low, and it is extremely hot 
at almost all times of the year. 

Located upon the picturesque peninsula which 
separates the Bay of Fonseca from the Pacific Ocean 
is the enormous volcano of Conchagua, towering up 
to a height of over 4,000 feet above sea-level, and 
measuring some twenty miles in circumference around 
its base. There are two magnificent peaks, one 
measuring 3,800 feet, and the other 4,101 feet. The 
situation is 13° 16' 28" latitude, and 87° 51' 46" longi- 
tude. This mountain was last in eruption in the 
year 1868, but to all appearances it is now perfectly 
quiescent. 

Both industrially and commercially La Union is 
of importance, much of the fine timber employed in 
various parts of the Republic for both building opera- 
tions and cabinet-making coming from its forests, 
which nevertheless as yet have hardly been touched. 
Great potential wealth is contained here, and, in view 
of the proximity of the port, its forests should one day 
be intelligently and profitably exploited. 

As to manufactures, the Department possesses lime, 
hat (palm-leaf variety), mat, soap, candle, steel, and 
other establishments ; while considerable trade goes 
on in fish, and especially in oyster-curing. La Uni6n 



USULUTAN 313 

oysters are very delicious, and are mucli relished as 
a rule by foreigners, wlio declare them to be equal 
to tbe best Whitstable in flavour. Tlie variety of fish 
caught off these coasts is not particularly large, but 
the quality is very fine. The cost of living in this 
Department, even at the port of La Union, is cheap, 
and on the whole one may dwell there very comfort- 
ably, if climatic conditions be accepted philosophically^. 

Department of Usulutan. 

Cities. — Usulutdn, Jucuapa, Alegria (3). 

Towns. — Santa Elena, Jiquilisco (2). 

This Department belongs to the eastern section of 
the Republic, and formerly its territory was embraced 
in the Department — or, as it was then called, the 
Province — of San Miguel (6 Provincia) de Chaparras- 
tique, now known simply as " San Miguel." It became 
a separate Department in 1865. It is bounded on the 
north and east by the Department of San Miguel, on 
the south by the Pacific Ocean, and on the west by the 
Department of San Vicente. Its area is 3,344 square 
kilometres which represents a xwa P^^^ of the super- 
ficial area of the Republic. 

The central portion of the Department is very 
mountainous, the country here being crossed by a lofty 
range, north of which it is relatively level, but decidedly 
broken-up. In the south are found lowlands and a 
swampy coast, which during the rainy season becomes 
somewhat unhealthy. Within the borders of this 
Department are found three separate volcanoes — 
Usulutan, Jucuapa and Taburete. From a geological 
point of view the two last named are the most interest- 
ing, having small lakes of sulphurous water in their 
ancient craters. Roundabout, and especially in a deep 



314 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

and dry ravine wliich extends from the south-east of 
the village of Tecapa towards the River Lempa, are a 
number of active geysers which emit dense volumes of 
sulphurous vapours and columns of smoke, reminding 
one forcibly of some of the beautiful geysers in New 
Zealand, in the Roturua district. 

The largest of the geysers at Tecapa is called " El 
Tronador " (The Thunderer), and this has formed a 
small crater of its own, from out of which is thrown a 
high and thick column of steam saturated with sul- 
phuretted hydrogen and other gases, while the noise 
which accompanies the emission of this steam is 
deafening, and can be heard for many miles away. 

The Department is divided up into three districts — 
namely, Usulutan, which contains seven villages or 
small towns ; Jucuapa, containing four ; and Santiago 
de Maria, containing seven. The first-named district 
has a population of some 12,000 inhabitants, more than 
half of whom reside in the city of Usulutan, a pleasant 
place enough, situated upon the right bank of a stream 
called Juano, but only at the moderate elevation of 
420 feet above sea-level. It is also some ninety-five 
miles distant from the Capital. The number of build- 
ings of an ornate character is considerable, for 
Usulutan was formerly a place of some pretensions, 
being the residential quarters of the authorities of the 
ancient Division of San Miguel 6 Provincia de Chapar- 
rastique. It was classed as a " town " in 1827, and 
was given the rank of a " city " in 1860. Among the 
more notable buildings are a handsome town-hall, a 
school-house, and a minor University, where the higher 
education is imparted to a large number of pupils and 
students. A prison of some dimensions, and a hand- 
some but small church, should also be mentioned. 



I 



USULUTAN 315 

According to some old Spanish MSS., which I was 
shown, this town was known to the Indians of 1574 as 
"Uceluclan," and a large number of people at one 
time apparently resided there. Another very old 
place is Santa Elena, which dates from 1661 ; to-day 
it has about 3,275 inhabitants, the surrounding dis- 
trict and many smaller villages bringing up the total 
of inhabitants for the district to nearly 6,000. 

There are over a dozen notable Jincas round about, 
where maize, tobacco, rice and black beans are 
cultivated. Jiquilisco boasts of between 4,500 and 
4,600 inhabitants, and even more important Jincas, so 
far as size and amount of produce are concerned. 
Santa Maria de Los Remedies is also an old town, 
possessing some 1,750 inhabitants. Two important 
jincas are located in the neighbourhood, and engage 
the services of many of the labourers available. 
Ereguaiquin, which is some 7 kilometres distant, 
has 2,100 inhabitants ; Ozatlan, another small town of 
very recent origin, being founded as late as 1890, 
having 2,000 inhabitants. 

The district of Jucuapa, with its four towns and 
villages, is somewhat deficient in water, having only 
the San Francisco River to depend upon. Nevertheless 
the country is very fertile, especially in the immediate 
district around the volcano of Jucuapa, which towers 
up into the air some 5,000 feet above the level of the 
sea. The chief town has two schools of importance, a 
private college for the children of wealthier parents, a 
casino, a club, and a well-maintained hospital. 

Estanzuelas, which was established as a village in 
1815, has over 10,000 inhabitants, most of whom are 
engaged in the pursuit of agriculture. San Buena- 
ventura, another village, stands much higher, and is 



316 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

possessed of a more pleasant climate and outlook over 
mountains and valleys. It has but 1,600 inliabitants, 
and among several distinguished Salvadoreans who 
have been born in this district is Dr. Maximo Araujo, 
vrho has rendered great political services to his 
country. 

The small tovi^n known as El Triunfo (also described 
as " San Juan del Triunfo ") is an old-established place, 
and was formerly known as "La Labor." This is in 
a well-watered district, and many prosperous fincas are 
to be found scattered around. A fuller account of the 
port will be found under Chapter XVI., " Ports and 
Harbours." 

The Santiago de Maria district is moderately well 
inhabited, but the town of the same name is small, and 
is little over forty years old. The neighbourhood, 
which has always been known as fertile, and which is 
abundantly watered by several rivers and streams, 
produces large quantities of maize, beans, sugar, 
tobacco and vegetables. 

Other small towns in this Department are San 
Agustin, Tecapan, Alegria, Berlin and California. The 
total population of the Department was put in 1909 at 
89,175, the district of Usulutan having the largest 
number, estimated at 32,275 ; Jucuapa came next, with 
25,700 ; and Santiago de Maria third, with 24,600. The 
remaining 8 per cent, of the population were dispersed 
throughout the Department. 



CONCLUSION 

" In every worTc regard the writer's End, 
Since none can compass more than they intend; 
And if the means he just, the conduct true, 
Applause, in spite of trivial faults, is due." 

I MAKE no claim in tliis volume to having written 
anything startlingly new, nor yet to have made any 
particularly valuable contribution to the history of 
the world ; but what I have endeavoured to effect, 
and what I trust I have accomplished at least in part, 
is to put before my readers what I know to be facts 
concerning a very interesting country which has 
hitherto received but scant attention at the hands 
of financial writers. Bulwer Lytton has said that no 
author ever drew a character, consistent to human 
nature, but what he was forced to ascribe to it many 
inconsistencies. So it is with a book which purports 
to be a true description of a country ; for in portraying 
its attractions one must of a necessity expose its draw- 
backs and deficiencies. 

It must be remembered that the Republic of Sal- 
vador has yet to celebrate its centenary, being one 
of the youngest of the Latin-American States ; but 
considering the different troubles and tribulations 
which this country— in common with all of the Latin- 
American Republics without exception — has gone 
through, the present condition of her civilization, 
of her arts and her commerce, is eminently encoura- 

317 



318 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

ging. The great advance made by ttis State has been 
achieved in spite of the many obstacles which it has 
encountered. If the permanency of a Republic mainly 
depends upon the general intelligence and morality of 
the people constituting it, I look for a continued and 
even an increased prosperity for the Salvadoreans, since 
they are indubitably among the Central American 
nations the most developed and the most intellectiial. 
No longer subject to and borne down by an immoral 
and corrupt Government, and freed from the exactions 
of hungry office-seekers, this naturally richly-endowed 
little State should pursue an even and enviable road to 
prosperity, upon which foreigners will be heartily wel- 
come to journey. 



In 1895, when Mr. Joseph Chamberlain was Colonial 
Secretary, a circular letter was addressed to all British 
Consuls of the British Empire, asking for information 
regarding the effect of foreign competition upon 
British trade abroad. In the answers received, and 
subsequently published in the form of a bulky Blue 
Book, some critics professed to see much comfort ; 
but to the minds of others, who looked more deeply 
into matters and judged more from what was likely 
to occur than what had actually happened, the future 
appeared gloomy in the extreme. To enact the r61e 
of Cassandra is never an agreeable nor a profitable 
occupation ; but upon occasions it becomes necessary 
to sound the alarum, if only to awaken the slumberer 
from his too-long repose, and remind him that the 
world is marching onwards and ever onwards. At no 
time has this been more imperative than the present, 
when British trade and commerce, British influence 
and British prestige, in Central America, at one time 



CONCLUSION 319 

predominant, are threatened, not alone with super- 
session, but with practical extinction. This is no 
phantom of the imagination, nor yet any unfair ex- 
aggeration of existing conditions. It is a plain and 
incontrovertible fact, which anyone travelling through 
the smaller Latin-American Republics may ascertain 
for himself. 

The decline of British trade in these countries was 
clearly foreshadowed in the Blue Book above referred 
to ; but the public, with some few exceptions, com- 
placently closed their eyes, the Government as usual 
did nothing to avert the threatened evil, and the 
results are such as were inevitable under the circum- 
stances. The Consular reports upon these States as 
they are issued {when they are issued at all) tell the 
tale of our diminishing trade, and of the slow but sure 
rise of our competitors to the position of dominance 
which once was ours. There is little occasion to 
criticize the figures or to call them into question ; 
it may, perhaps, have served some useful purpose to 
have examined, as I have done in these pages, into 
the principal causes which have helped to bring 
about a condition of things which is gradually going 
from bad to worse. 

I shall be abundantly satisfied, and consider myself 
sufficiently recompensed for the trouble to which I 
have put myself and the not inconsiderable expenses 
which I have incurred in preparing this volume, if I 
can awaken some interest among my countrymen — 
upon the British Government I do not for an instant 
expect to make any impression whatever — to the 
critical position in which our national trade stands 
to-day in Latin- America generally, but in the Republic 
of Salvador in particular. The time has apparently 



320 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

gone by when Britisli trade abroad could depend at 
least upon tbe countenance, if not always tbe active 
support, of the Ministry of the day. 

In the days of William Pitt the Elder it was the 
proud boast of our rulers that " not a gun should be 
fired throughout the world without Britain knowing 
why " ; but to-day commercial treaties of the utmost 
import to British merchants are entered into, new 
imposts which seriously threaten their existing trade 
are levied, and favoured-nation terms to their most 
dangerous commercial rivals are granted, without the 
Home Government knowing or caring one pin's head 
about it. Where are " the eyes and the ears " of the 
State that such things can occur, and where is the 
patriotism which permits of them occurring? No 
British Government within the past half-century has 
as much as inquired about the status of British trade 
in Latin- America, nor has it troubled its head to find 
out whether it flourished or failed. For the despicable 
purpose of currying favour with our keenest rivals in 
that great field — the United States — such position as 
we still occupy in that portion of the world is being 
recklessly and ignorantly sacrificed. How this crime 
— for crime it assuredly is — is likely to be perpetrated 
I have shown conclusively in the preceding pages. 
Let those who are accused answer to the charges — if 
they can or if they dare ! 

July 31, 1911. 



SALVADOR 



^DOR OF THE XXCENTURY' 




HO:r^DURAS 



r i '' "1^ Vpl.Chon;*6fciy <- — ) ^"""^ 



SAIA^DOR 




LottdoD. ,. E dward Annold . 



INDEX 



Academy, Salvador, 41 
Acajutla, 9, 51, 52, 61, 62, 64, 65, 68, 
73, 93, 115, 146, 167, 197, 198, 204, 
222, 223, 226, 290, 291, 293, 295, 
299, 309 
Administration of Justice, 18 
Administrator, Post-Oliice, 34 
Agricultural Bank, 172 

machinery and implements, 107, 
147, 148 
Agriculture, 164, 228-243, 276, 285, 
288, 291, 303 
Minister of, 18, 41, 229 
School of, 29 

Sub-Secretary of, 18, 42, 43, 44, 
47, 164 
Agronomy, 230 
Aguila, Eugenio, 172 
Aguila, Jose Astua, 81, 82 
Agustin, 316 

Ahuachapan, 8, 9, 25, 66, 94, 141, 
179, 213, 234, 247, 266, 294-296 
Department of, 28, 234, 290, 294- 
297 

Alegria, 11, 266, 313, 316 
Alfaro Prudencio, 61, 65, 67, 71 
Allison Manufacturing Company, 200 
Alvarado, Dr. H., 265 
Alvarado, Jorge de, 249, 256 
Alvarado, Pedro de, 256 
Alvarez, Dr. E., 274 
Amapala, Battle of, 39 

Treaty of, 72, 73, 75, 77, 81, 82 
Amaya, General Juan, 38, 281 
Angulo, 4 
Apaneca, 9, 295 

volcano, 4 
Aragon Manuel, 11 

Araujo, President Manuel Enrique, 15, 
17, 36, 40, 43, 47, 84, 85, 114, 246, 
273 
Araujo, Dr. Maximo, 316 
Area, 2 

Arce, General Manuel Josi, 14 
Argentina, 129, 154, 230 
Arias Celio, 39, 74 
Armenia, 290 
Army, 38, 64, 86-95, 224, 269 

strength of, 87 
Assembly, National, 15, 19, 38 
Ataco, 9 
Ateos, 51 

Atiquizaya, 25, 294 
Atuscatla, 5 
Austria, 147 



Avila, Dr. Arturo Ramon, 36, 45, 46, 
116 

Baldwin Locomotive "Works, 199 
Balsalobre, Rev. Dr. E. M., 178 
Balsam, 108, 147, 216, 229, 241-243, 

288, 290 
Banco Agricola, 172-174 

Occidental, 172 

Salvadoreno, 46, 176 
Bank, London, of Mexico, 50 

London and South-Western 51, 53 

Mortgage, 177 

Nicaragua, 177 
Banks, 46, 50, 51, 53, 167, 170-177 
Bara, General Enrique, 23 
Barahona, 65 
Barberena, Dr. S. L, 265 
Baron, Dr. Gustavo, 18, 42, 271 
Barracks, 87, 88, 92-95, 257, 274 
Barrancas de Jucuapa, 12 
Barrios, General Gerardo, 38, 274, 275 
Barrios, General Justo Rufino, 15, 39 
Beans, 229, 240, 248, 276, 316 
Bedoya, ix 

Beers and liquors, 158 
Berlin, 11, 316 
Bertrand, President Dr., 84 
Bills of exchange, 167, 168. 170, 171 
Bloom, David, and Co., 172, 177 
Board of Trade, British, 44, 125, 164 
Bocanegra, Angel M., 81, 82 
Bogen, Herr, 153 
Bolivia, 131, 132, 161 
Boots and shoes, 107 
Bracamonte, Don Eusebio, 18, 36, 42 
Bracamonte, General, 38 
Brazil, 154, 235, 236, 240 
Breweries, 158 
Bridges, 12, 198 

British Consul, 99-101, 105, 110-112, 
129, 319 

diplomacy, 120-126, 128, 129 

Foreign Office, 96, 100, 101. 105, 
122-124 

Government, 98 

investments, 160 

Legation, 128 

manufacturers, 138, 139, 141 

Minister, 98, 139 

retail houses, 137 

trade, 98, 99, 105, 123, 125, 127, 
129, 162, 164, 318, 319 

tradesmen, 168, 169 
Brown, Jansen, and Co. , 51 

321 21 



322 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



Brvce, Right Hon. James, 123-126 
Buerou. J. L., 10 
Bueron, Juan, 11 
Bureau, Information, 44 
Bustamente, Dr. Cecilio, IS, 36, 41 
Butters Mines, 187-195 

Cabanas, Department of, 12, 28, 247, 

276, 278, 282-284, 306 
Cabinet. 18, 36, 42. 45 
Cables, 32, 226, 227 
Cacaguatique, 306 
Cacao, 239, 240, 291, 308 
Cafes, 158 
California, 316 
Campbell, C. S., 105 
Canned goods, 150 ^ 
Careamo, General Teofilo, 79 
Carden, Lionel E. G., 97, 139 
Carden, Mrs., 98 
Carden, Kev. Lionel, 97 
Casino Salvadoreno, 273, 274 
Castro, K, Dr. Don :\Ianuel, IS, 36, 

41 
Castro, v.. Dr. Don Jose Antonio, 18, 

36, 42 
Cathedral, 257, 259 
Cattle and hides, lOS, 230, 231, 286, 

295, 303 
Central America, 13, 14, 32 
United, 14 
American Federation, 14, 50, 67 

Peace Conference, 33 
Penitenciaria, 21 
Cereals, 229, 2S5. 291, 295 
Chalatenaugo, 9, 11, 28, 266. 277, 278 
Department of, 12, 28, 247, 248, 
276-278, 287, 297 
Chalchnapa. 25, 39, 179, 294, 295, 297 
Chamber of Commerce (Salvador), 43, 

47, 164 
Chapeltique, 306 
Charities, 17, 265-267, 284 
Chatham, Earl of, 38 
Cheese, 277, 286 
Chemists, 157 
Chief Magistrates, 16 
Chile, 161, 202 
Chilian Mission, 88 
Chinameca, 9, 306, 307 

volcano, 4 
Choussv. Felix, 230 
Churches, vii, viii, 150, 283, 308 
Cierra, General, 69 
Cigars and cigarettes, 158, 236, 279, 

291 
Citala. 11, 276 
Civil Code, 229 
Clubs, 88 

Clum, Harold D., 44 
Coatepeque, 297 
Cocoa machinery, 156 



Cocoanuts, 291 

Coffee, 108, 152, 216, 217, 219, 225, 
229, 234, 235, 248, 285, 283. 

290, 295, 302, 307, 311, 315 
estates, 302-304, 308, 316 
machinery, 150, 156 

Cojutepeque, 9, 19, 25, 94, 179, 213. 
236. 278 
Lake. 280 
Colleges, 2S, 29 
Colon, 226 
Colombia, 210 
Columbus, Christopher, 1 
Commander-in-Chief, 16 
Commerce, Chamber of (Salvador), 43, 

47 
Commercial travellers, 136, 141, 156, 
157 
treaties, 109, 112, 124, 126, 127, 
320 
Commission, Mexican, 97 
Commissioners, rural, 229 
Commons, House of, 38 
Conchagua volcano, 4 
Conference, Central American Peace, 
33, 118, 119 
Hague, 46 
Conflagrations, 150, 151 
Congress, National, 16, 18, 33, 34, 47, 
53 
Spanish-American, 46 
Constitution, 15, 38, 259, 281 
Constitutional Convention, 14 
Consular invoices, 167 
regulations, 101-105 
reports, 98-100 
Consul, British, 99-101, 105, 110-112, 
129, 319 
-General, Salvador, 45 
United States, 44 
Liverpool, 48 
Consuls, Salvadorean, 102-105 

United States, 112 
Conventions, 14, 30 
Cordilleras, 2 
Corinto, 65, 68, 73 
Corn, 240, 248, 276, 282, 288, 311 
Coronation of H.M. George V., mission 

to, 46, 47 
Corpeno, J. Dolo, 177 
Corranza. Dr. don Teodosio, 18, 36, 41 
Cosiegnina volcano, 4 
Costa Eica, 14, 49, 50, 80, 98, 136, 
140, 143, 152, 161, 179, 189, 212. 
214, 223, 226, 249 
Cost of living, 261, 262, 313 
Costume, native, 244 
Cotton. 107, 146, 216, 229, 232, 244, 

291, 295 
goods, 134 
manuJFactures, 162 
mills, 163 



INDEX 



Council of Foreign Bondholders, 54, 55 

of Health, 18, 270 
Courtade, John B., 219 
Court of Justice, Central America, 74, 

76, 79-83 
Courts, Circuit, 19 

District, 19 

Minor, 19 

Supreme, 19, 257 
Credit system, 166, 169-171 
Criminal Law, 19 
Cristales, General, 69 
Cuba, 97, 121, 154, 237 
Cuscatlan, Department of, 28, 234, 
247, 248, 256, 276, 278, 279, 281, 
282, 287, 300 
Customs, 50, 51, 54, 58, 59, 166-169, 
210, 224 

duties, 159 

Union, 123 
Cyanide process, 187-195 

Dardano, Donna Teresa, 47 
Davila, President, 74, 78, 79 
Dawson, Samuel C., 178 
Debt, Foreign, 49, 50, 51, 52, 55 

Public, 57 
Decree, Government, 70 
Deficit, 59, 60 
Deininger, Fedor, 153, 225 
Delgado, Dr. Manuel, 73 
Departments, 15, 16, 28, 235, 247, 271 

Police, 25 
Deputies, 15 

National Chamber of, 15 
Designates, Presidential, 38 
Diaz, Porfirio, 75 
Diaz, Senora J. B. de, 236, 280 
Diplomacy, British, 120, 121, 122, 123, 

124, 125, 126, 128, 129 
Director- General of Police, 23 
Discovery of Salvador, 1 
Diseases, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272 
Distilleries, 276, 289 
District Courts, 19 
Divisadero Mines, 193 
Dolores, 282 
Domestic life, 244, 245 

servants, 261, 262, 263 
Dreadnoughts, 128 
Drews, F., 172 

Drugs and medicines, 107, 157 
Duenas, Dr. Don Francisco, 18, 36, 

40, 47 
Duenas, Don Miguel, 18, 36, 42, 47, 164 
Dueiias, President Dr., 38 
Duke, Mauricio, 172 
Duke, J. Mauricio, 172 
Dunlop, R. C, 182, 183 

Earthquakes, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255 
Ecuador, 115, 161 



Education, 27. 28, 29, 30, 230, 272, 
314, 315 

Board of, 26 

Free, 26 

Minister of, 26, 42, 266 
Educational establishments, 264, 265 
Elections, 17 
Electric light, 32 
El Diario de Salvador, 70 
El Tigre, 4 

El Triunfo, 11, 167, 226, 316 
El Viego volcano, 4 
Ereguaiquui, 315 
Erui^tions, 5, 7 
Escalon, Pedro Jose, 15 
Escobar, Francisco, 265 
Estanzuelas, 315 
Esteves, Captain A., 224 
Estrada, General, 68 
Europe, 21, 29 

Exchange, 169, 170, 172, 209, 210 
Executive, 15, 16 
Expenditures, 30, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 

War and Marine, 95 
Export trade, 133 
Exports and imports, 58, 59, 105, 106, 

107, 108, 144, 162 
Ezeta, General Carlos, 15, 40 

Fairs, 278, 279, 282, 307 

Fawcett, Preston and Co., Ltd., 153, 

155 
Federal Republic, 14 
Federation, Central American, 14, 67, 

301, 310 
Felica volcano, 4 
Figueroa, General Fernando, 4, 8, 15, 

17, 31, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 61, 62, 63, 

64, 65, 6Q, 69, 73, 78, 79, 87, 142, 

151, 281 
Filibusters, North American, vi, 61 
Filisola, General, 13 
Filter Butters, 190-194 
Finance, Minister of, 18, 117 
Sub-Secretary of, 18, 43 
Finances, 49 

railway, 55 
Fii'o apparatus, 150, 151 

brigade, 151 
Fish, 312, 313 
Flour, 107 
Fonseca, Bay of, 1, 2. 3, 9, 286, 309, 

311, 312 
Forces, 16 
Foreign Affairs, Minister of, 18, 76, 112 

Sub-Secretary of, IS, 41 
Foreigners, 284, 313 
Foreign loans, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 

55, 57, 115 
Foreign Office, British, 96, 100, 101, 

10.5, 122, 123, 124 
Foreign trade, 106 



324 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



France, 104, 105, 107, 108. 135, 146, 

147. 151 
Free Trade, 123, 132, 133 
French trade, 146 
Fruits, 2S5, 291, 295, 299, 307, 311 

Gainza, ix 

Gallegos. Salvador, SI, S2 

Garcia, Dr. A., 265 

Gavidia, Francisco, 265 

G«olo£nr, ISl. 1S3 

German trade, lOS. 109, 12S, 129, 130, 

131. 132, 133. 134, 135, 137-139. 

141. 142. 143. 144, 145, 146, 147. 

152, 153. 162, 16S 
GtrmanT. 104, 105, 106. 107, lOS, 109. 

144, 147 
Gonzalez. Dr. D.. 265 
Gonzalez, Dr. Kodolfo B.. 271 
Gonzalez. Marshal Santiai^o. 3S, 39 
Goods, British, 133, 134, 135, 137, 139 
Goodyear, Professor, 7 
Gordon, John, and Co., 152, 156 
Gotera, 310, 311 
Goremment, 14, 15, 17, 21, 23, 26, 32 

British. 98 
GoTemois. 16 
Great Britain, 31 
Grey, Sir Edward, Bart, 100, 105 
Guaram^, 9 
Guascoran River, S 
Guatemala, viii. 4, 5, 14. 15. 30, 3S, 

48, 50, 67, 74, SO, SI, 82. S3, 96. 

97, 98, 119. 121, 129, 131, 138, 140. 

143, 145, 152. 161, 172. 179. ISO. 

202, 212. 214. 21S. 245, 248. 249, 

295, 297 
Guatemala, kingdom of, viii 
Guerrero, Dr, G. G., 47 
Guirola, Don Angel, 2S9 
Guirola D., Don Bafael, IS, 36. 40, 

41. 172 
Guthrie, C. S. S., 164 
Gutierrez, General Eafael, 15 
Guzmin, Dr. D. J.. 265 

Hague Conference, 46 

Hamburg, 147, 168, 170, 219 

Hardware, 135. 145 

Harlan, Holltngsworth Company, 200 

Havana. 10, 97 

Havre. 219 

Health. Council of. IS, 270 

Heimk^, Major W., 116, 117 

Heimke, Mrs., 117 

Hemmeler Gnillenno, 176 

Henequen, 229 

Hemandes, General Gregorio. 24 

Hidalgo, 13 

High Court of Justice, 42 

HUl. Lieutenant, 5 

Hinds, John W., 203 



Hispaniola, 1 

Hoc^, 231 

Houdm-as, 3, 14. 38, 49, 50. 61, 62, 67, 
68, 71, 72. 74. 75, 76, 77, 78, SO, 82. 
83. S4, S5, 96, 97. 98. 118, 119, 121, 
129, 161. 170. 172, 179, ISl, 212, 



214, 
311 



>76, 2S2, 295, 297, 306, 310, 



Honduras, war with, 38, 39, 40, 74 
Hooi^r. A. H., 226, 227 
Hospicio Guirola, 289 
Hospitality, narive, 273, 284 
Hospitals, 17, 265-268,269, 271, 272, 

289 
Hotels, 6, 236, 261, 280, 291, 293 
House of Commons. 38 
Hydrographic Office, U.S.A., 2S7 

Hobasco city. 2S2 
volcano, 279 
Ilopango, Lake, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. 10. 2S0, 

300 
Lmplements, Agricultural, 107, 147, 

148 
Imports and Exports, 58, 59, 105, 106, 

107, lOS, 144, 162, 163 
Independence, 13, 249 
India, 154 
Industry (Fomento), Minister of, 18 

Sub-Secretary, 18 
Information Bm-eau, 44 
Instruction, Military, 87, 88, 89 
Minister of. 18, 26 
PubHc. 18. 26 
Sub-Secretary, 18, 26, 42 
Intercontinental Railway Commission, 

212 
Interior, Minister of. 18, 23 
Interior, Sub-Secretary, 18 
Investments, United States, 159, 160, 
161 
British, 160 
Indigo, lOS, 232, 233, 237. 2S2. 2S3, 

2S5, 2SS, 302. 307 
Iron and Steel Trades, 135 
Italv, 147 

Iturbide. Agustin YIIL, 13, 14 
Izalco City, 290 
District, 230 
volcano, 4, 248 

Jamaica, 235, 240, 242 

Jerez, 30 

Jerusalen, 305 

Jiboa, River, 5, 8 

Jiquilisco, Bay of. 232, 313, 315 

Jocoro, 9 

Jucuapa, 9, 12, 36, 313, 315 

volcano. 315 
Judice, Miguel, 172 
Judicial, 15 
Justice, Administration of, 18 



INDEX 



325 



Justice and Beneficence, Minister of, 18 

Sub- Secretary of, 18, 42 
Justices, 19 

Junta, Provisional, viii, ix 
Jutiapa, 282 

Keilhauer, Rene, 213, 214 
Keith. Minor C, 214, 215 
Kelly, Mark Jamestown, 45, 51, 53, 

114, 115, 116, 151, 164, 201, 203, 

207, 211 
Kinnon, Lieutenant, 287 
Knox, Philander, 122, 126 
Kosmos Company, 219 

Labour, 311 

La Ceiba, 51, 304 

Lagos, Ingeniero Jose Maria Peralta, 

18, 36, 42 
Laguna Finca, 153 
La Libertad, 1, 9, 11, 28, 32, 58, 146, 

167, 220, 223-227, 232, 234, 248, 

271, 276, 287-290, 297, 300 
Lamport and Holt, 219 
Lancaster C. and W. Co., 200 
Land Law, 228, 229 
La Paz, Department of, 28, 234, 247, 

248, 278, 284, 287, 300, 301, 305 
Latin -American trade, 120 
Latin Republics, v, vii, yiii, x 
La Union, 8, 9, 24, 25, 28, 58, 69, 167, 

202, 213, 216-220, 226, 266, 286, 

309, 311 
La Union Department, 12, 28, 306, 

311-313 
Law, Criminal, 19 
Lazarettos, 270 
Lefferts, Miss Anne E., 98 
Lefferts, John, 98 
Legal pi'ocedure, 19 
Legation, British, 97, 128 

United States, 16, 117, 127 
Legislative, 15 
Leiva, Nicolas, 48 
Leiva, General Pcnciano, 39, 74 
Lempa River, 3, 11, 232, 276, 314 
Leyland Line, 219 
Liberals, viii, ix 
Limon, Port of, 136 
Linares, 11 

Liquors and beers, 158, 159 
Liverpool Consul for Salvador, 48 
Llanos. Colonel Armando, 88 
Loans, foreign, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 

55, 57, 115 
London, 168, 170 
Lopez, Dr. Fernando, 38 
Lumber, 108 

Machinery, 135, 151 

agricultural, 107, 147, 148 
mining, 182, 189, 190 



Madriz, Jose, 81, 82 
Maida, ix 

Maize, 229, 232, 240, 316 
Manufacturers, British, 138, 139, 141 
native, 163, 276, 277, 285, 291, 
307, 311,312 
Marine, "War and, 18 
Markets, 292, 299 
Marriages, 27 
Martin, Ernesto, 81, 82 
Mason, Marcus, and Co., 152 
Mathies, C. G,, 176 
Maximilian, 10 
Medical College, 28 
Medicines and drugs, 107, 157 
Medina, General, 39, 74 
Mejia, Federico, 117 
Melendez, Carlos, 38 
Mencia, Manuel Lopez, 56 
Menendez, General F., 15, 39 
Mercedes, 12 

Mercenaries, United States, vi 
Mercury, 295 
Metapan, 9, 11, 297, 299 
Mexican Commission, 97 
Mexico, vi, viii, ix, 4, 10, 13, 21, 30, 

50, 62, 75, 97, 116, 132, 143, 160, 

161, 231, 236, 245, 278 
Michaelson, Fedor, 226, 227 
Militia, 38 

Miller, J. Imbrie, 287 
Mine production, 186 
Miners, native, 184, 195 
Mines in operation, 185 
Mining, 9, 181-195 
Minister of Education, 26, 42, 266 
of Finance, 18, 117 
of War, 86 
Ministiy, 18 
Minor courts, 1 9 
Miranda, General, 74 
Mission to Coronation, H.M. George V., 

46, 47 
Momotombo volcano, 4 
Monarchy, Spanish, vii, viii 
Moncagua, 306 
Monroe Doctrine, 130 
Monuments, public, 274, 275 
Morales, Don Agustin, 127 
Moraz&n Department, 28, 247, 306, 

310, 311 
Morazan, General Francisco, 14, 15, 

275, 310 
Morelia, 13 

Morgan, J. Pierpout, 161 
Mortality, 263 
Mortgage Bank, 177 
Municipalities, 16, 17 
Municipal Treasury, 18 

Nahuizaleo, 290 

National Assembly, 15, 19, 38 



326 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



National Bank, 172, 174, 175, 176 
National Chamber of Deputies, 15 

Congi-ess, 33, 44, 47, 53 
National Institute, 265 
Library, 265 
Palace 274 

Theatre. 151, 257, 260, 261, 263, 
264, 274 
National University, 22, 30, 42, 45, 

265 
Native manufacturers, 163, 276, 277 

types, 244 
New San Salvador (Santa Tecla), 9, 25, 

46,93 
New York, 168, 170 
Nicaragua, 4, 14, 15, 50, 61, 67, 68, 
71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 96, 140, 
172, 179, 180, 212, 214, 249 
war with, 40 
Niearaguan Navy, 73 
North American Filibusters, vi, 61 

Occidental Bank, 172 
Olocuilta, 300 
Opico, 9, 287 
Opposition, Spanish, vi 
Otaco, 295 

Ottley, Miss Lucy, 97 
Ozatlan, 315 

Pacas, Dr. Jose Rosa, 117 

Pacific Mail Steamship Company, 129 

Steamship Navigation Company, 
218, 219 
Palacio Nacional, 277 
Palmer, Frederick, 163 
Palomo, Tomas, G., 268 
Pamphlets in Spanish, 147 
Panama, 136, 172, 223, 226 

Canal, 159 

Railroad, 136 
Pan-American Bureau, 113 
Railway, 136, 214 
Parcels Post, 31 

Parks, public, 258, 259, 283. 289 
Parras Lempa, 35 
Pasaquina, Battle of, 39 
Paz, River, 1, 8 
Peace Conference, Central American. 

33. 118, 119, 214 
Peasants, 243-246 
Penitenciaria, Central, 21 

Santa Ana, 22 
Peralta, Don Jose Maria, 36 
Peralta, Senorita Maria, 36 
Peru. 4, 21, 131, 132, 202 
Pharmacy Law, 157 
Pinto, Alberto, 12PT\.OQ O 
Pinto, Miguel, 178*-^ *^ ^ O ^ 
Pitt, William, 38 
Planters and trade, 209, 210 
Police, 18, 23-25 



P 



Police, Director-General of, 23 

superior oifieers, 23 
Polytechnic, 88-90 

Population, 2, 4, 217, 224, 244, 246, 
257. 277, 279, 283, 289, 295, 301, 
309, 311, 314, 315, 316 
Portillo, A. R., 177 
Port Limon, 136 
Ports, 11, 32, 216, 226, 271 
Postal Administrator, 35 

agencies, 35 

Convention, 31 

service, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35 
Poste Restante, 34 
Post Office, 18, 30, 33-35 

British, 33 
Posts, Department of, 30 
Potatoes, 240 
Potteries. 277 
Poultry, 231 
Poverty, absence of, 277 
Presa General, 69 
Presidential Designate, 38 
President M. E. Araujo. 15, 17, 36, 

40, 43, 47, 84. 85. 114, 246, 273 
Presidents, 14-17 
Press, 177-180, 227 

Association, Central American, 179 
Prieto, Don Carlos G., 18, 36, 43 
Printing establishment, 18 
Prisons, 20 
Procedure, legal, 19 
Proclamation to people, 62 '63 
Progreso, El, 290 

Prosperity, general, 277, 295. 296, 299 
Protection, 132 
Provisional Junta, viii, ix 
Public Credit, Minister of, 18 

Sub-Secretary, 18 
Public Debt, 57 

Public Instruction. Minister of, 18, 26 
Sub-Secretary of, 18, 26, 42 

parks, 258, 259. 283, 289 

Works, Sub-Secretary of, 42 
Puerto Cortes, 68 

Quezaltepeque, 287 

volcano, 288 
Quinonez, Dr. A., 265 
Quiros, Guillermo, 11 

Race, Spanish, v 

Railways, new, 212-215, 286, 287, 309 

Railway subsidy, 52, 54 

finance, 55 
RegoMdo, General Tomas, 15, 67 
Religion, 28, 259 
Religious instruction, 28 
Republic, Fedei'al, 14 
Republics, Latin, v, vii, viii, x 
Restaurants, 158 

Revenue and expenditure, 55, 56, 57, 
58, 59, 69, 236, 237 



m 



INDEX 



327 



Revolution, 63 

French, viii 
Rice, 108, 229, 248, 276, 282, 288 
Rice machinery, 156 
Rivas, Manuel, 61, 63, 64 
Rivas, R. Mayorga. 177 
Roads, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 299, 303, 304 
Roman Catholics, 259 
Roosevelt, President, 117, 118, 121 
Rosales, Don Jose, 266 
Rozenraad, C, 164 
Rubber, 108, 229, 238, 239 
Rum, 236 

Sabana Grande, 39 
Sailing vessels, 109 
Salina Cruz, 204, 205, 226, 227 
Salvador Chamber of Commerce (Lon- 
don), 115 
invasion of, 61-64 
Raihvay, 9, 35, 50, 52, 54, 61, 
114, 115, 136, 164, 196-215, 
223, 225, 299, 310 
Salvador, ss., 201, 204-206, 225 
Sanatoriums, 267, 268 
San Alejo, 311 
San Buena Ventura, 315 
San Carlos, 310 
San Francisco, 276 
San Isjnacio, 276 
San Isidro, 282 
San Jacinto, 6 
San Jose, 136 

San Miguel, 9, 19, 24, 25, 34, 45, 94, 
176, 179, 202, 213, 232, 
266, 286, 306, 309, 310 
Department of, 12, 247, 282, 
284, 287, 306-310, 311, 313 
River, 3. 232 
volcano, 4 
San Pedro, 378 

Mazahuat, 300, 305 
Nonualco, 270, 300, 304 
San Rafael, 276, 278, 301 
San Salvador (capital), 9, 21, 24, 26, 
28, 32, 51, 52, 141, 150-152, 
176, 197, 198, 225,249-270, 
273, 274, 286, 309 
Department of, 28, 234, 247, 

248, 276, 278, 287, 300 
volcano, 4, 248, 281 
San Vicente volcano, 4 
Santa Ana, 9, 11, 19, 24, 25, 28, 32, 
34, 51.52, 64, 90, 93, 95, 141, 
176, 179, 197, 198, 202, 213 
215, 266, 297-299 
Barbara, 39 

Department of, 12, 28, 234, 247, 
270, 276, 287-290, 294, 297-299 
Penitenciaria, 22 
volcano, 3, 4, 281 
Santa Elena, 313, 315 



Santa Maria Ostuma, 304 
Santa Rosa, 9, 311 

Santa Tecla (Nueva San Salvador), 9, 
25, 46, 93, 179, 225, 257, 266, 237, 
289, 289, 290 
Santiago de Maria, 11 

Nonualco, 300 
San Vicente, 9, 25, 28, 38, 213, 256, 
266, 286, 309 
Department, 29, 39, 40, 234, 240, 
245. 247, 278, 300, 301, 313 
Sapotitau, 288 
Scenery, 1 
Scherzer, A. Z., 51 
Schlensz, R. , 176 
School for Sergeants and Corporals, 

88 
School of Agriculture, 29 
Schools, 27, 28, 29, 283, 314 
Schwerin, H. T., 129 
Secretaries of State, 18 
Secretary of State (British), 99, 100, 

105 
Sensunapan River, 291 
Sensuntepeque, 9, 141, 279, 292, 283 
Service, Postal, 30, 31 
Sesori, 306 
Sheep, 230. 231 
Sherrill, Charles H., 127 
Shippers, advice to, 44 
Shipping, 109, 129, 146, 167, 216, 218, 

219, 220 
Siege, state of, 69 

Sitio del Nino, 9, 35, 51, 93, 197, 198 
Smallpox, 270 
Smoked meat, 158 

fish, 158 
Social customs, 158 
Sociedad, 310 
Societies, 264 

Sonsonate, 3, 9, 24, 25, 28, 34, 51, 58, 
61, 66, 141, 179, 197, 198, 230, 
266, 290-294, 295, 297 
Department of, 28, 234, 240, 245, 
247, 288, 290, 294, 297 
Soriano, Andres, 11 
Spain, V, vi, vii, viii, 1, 13, 147 

war with, v, vii 
Spanish-American University, 37 
Congress, 46 
oppression, vii 
race v 
Speueer, C. T. S., 200, 201, 212, 310 
Sport, 231 
Squier, E. G., 127 
State, Ministers of, 18 
of siege, 69 
Sub-Secretaries of, 18 
Statistics, Trade, 105, 106, 107, 108 
Steamships, 109, 129, 216, 218, 219, 

220 
Stewart, Charles, 202 



358 SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



Sub-Secretaries of State, IS 
Subsidy, railway, 52, 5i 
Suchitote, 279 

Sugar. lOS, 225, 229. 232, 235, 236, 
248. 285. 2SS. 295. 307, 311. 316 
macliinery, 150, 152-155, 235 
Superior officers of police, 23 
Supreme Court, IS 
Surgical College, 29 
Swan. Hunter^ and Co., 204, 205 
Symons, G. T., 203 

Tabanco, ISl 
Taxation, 236 
Teaching staff, 28 
Tecapa, 9 

volcano, 4 
Tecapan, 316 
Tehuantepec Railway, 136. 204, 205, 

206 
Tejutepeque, 282 
Tejutla, 276 

Telegraph and telephones. IS, 31, 297 
Telegraphy, wireless, 32 
TeUez, J. M. L.. 177 
Temperatures, 250, 256 
Teotepeque, 287 
Texistepeque, 297 
Textiles, 134, 145, 162 
Theatre, >«arional, 151. 257. 260, 261. 

263, 264 
Theatres, 291 
Timber. 240, 241, 285, 28S, 291. 307, 

312 
Tobacco. 108, 158. 236. 237, 238. 24S, 

279, 280, 285, 295, sie 
Toledo, General Salvador, 68 
Tonaeatepeque, 9 

Trade. British, 98, 99, 105, 12S, 125, 
127. 129 
foreign, 106 
German, 108, 109 
Latin-American, 120 
statistics, 105, 106, 107, 108 
Trading companies, 137, 138 ^ 
Tramways, 160 / ^ 

Transportation, 196-215 ( 

Treasury, Municipal, IS 
Treaties of commerce, 109, 112, 124, 

126, 127, 320 
Triana. S. Perez, 46 
Triunfo, 11, 167. 226, 316 
Troops, 86, 87, 88 
Tuberculosis. 267, 268 
Types, native, 244, 245 

Ucleo, Alberto, 81, 82 
IJluazapa, 306 

United Fruit Company, 214, 218 
Central America, 14 



United States vi, 5, 10. 20, 21, 23, 27, 
29. 44, 62, 75, 96. 103, 104, 
105, 106, 107, lOS. 109. 
110. 111. 112, 117, 122. 
123, 124. 126, 127, 128 
144, 145, 151. 158, 159 
capital. 159. 160, 161 
Consul-General. 44, 116 
Consuls, 112 
Legation, 116. 117, 127 
mercenaries, vi 
steel, 135, 136 
trade, 145, 146, 147 
Universities, 28, 29, 314 
University, National, 29, 30, 42, 45 

Spanish-American, 37 
Uriate, Juan E. . 178 
Umsuay, 230 
Usulutan City, 213. 301, 314. 315 

Department of, 12, 25. 247, 284. 

306, 313-316 
volcano, 4 

Vaccination, direction of, IS, 270. 271 

Valladolid, 13 

Vice-Presidents, 16 

Viceroys, Spanish, vii, viii 

Victoria, 282 

Vischer, Alfred, 87 

Volcanoes, 1. 2, 4, 24S, 251, 252, 256, 
279. 280, 281, 284, 285. 288. 294, 
297, 298, 304, 307, 311, 313 

Walsh, George S., 203 

"War and Marine Sub-Secretary, 18 

with Spain, v, vii 
Weavers, native, 163 
"Wheat. 229, 240, 276 
Wines and spirits, 158, 159 
Wireless telegraphy, 32 
Woods, precious, 240. 241 
Woollens, 145, 163, 295 

Xatruch, General. 74 

Yams, 240 
Yams, 135 
Yellow Fever. 272 
Yudice, Dr. Federico, 272 

Zacapa, 30, 215 

Zacatecoluca, 9, 25, 223, 266, 300, 301, 
303, 304 
volcano. 4 
Zaldivar, Dr. EafaeL 39. 46 
Zapote Barracks, 88, 92, 274 
Zaragosa, 225 
Zelaya. General Jose Santos. 14, 15, 

56, 61, 62, 67, 68, 71, 72, 73. 74, 78, 

79 



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